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Prevailing Prayer 



WHAT HINDERS IT? 



D. L. MOODY. 






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CHICAGO : 
F. H. EEVEI.L, 148 AND 150 M.UJisoN Street 

(Puhlisher of Evangelical Literature. 



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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1884, by 

FLEMING H. REYELL, 
In the Ofl5.ce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 

ALL BIGHTS RESERVED. 



The Li 

OF CONGKhSS 
WASHINGTON 



Printed and bound by J. L. Eegan & Co., Chicago. 



PREFATORY NOTE. 



The two first and essential means of grace are the 
Word of God and Prayer. By these comes conver- 
sion ; for we are born again by the Word of God, which 
liveth and abideth forever ; and w hosoever shall call 
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

By these also we grow; for we are exhorted to 
desire the sincere milk of the Word that we may grow 
thereby, and we cannot grow in grace and in the knowl- 
edge of the Lord Jesus Christ except we also speak to 
Him in Prayer. 

It is by the Word that the Father sanctifies us ; but 
we are also bidden to watch and pray, lest we enter into 
temptation. 

These two means of grace must be used in their 
right proportion. If we read the Word and do not 
pray, we may become pufi'ed up with knowledge, 

3 



4 PREFACE. 

without the love that buildeth up. If we pray without 
reading the Word, we shall be ignorant of the mind 
and will of God, and become mystical and fanatical, 
and liable to be blown about by every wind of doctrine. 

The following chapters relate especially to Prayer; 
but in order that our prayers may be for such things as 
are according to the will of God, they must be based 
upon the revelation of His own will to us ; for of Him, 
and through Him, and to Him are all things; and it is 
only by hearing His Word, in which we learn His 
purposes toward us and towards the world, that we 
can pray acceptably, praying in the Holy Ghost, asking 
those things which are pleasing in His sight. 

These Addresses are not to be regarded as exhaus- 
tive, but suggestive. This great subject has been the 
theme of Prophets and Apostles, and of all good men 
in all ages of the world; and my desire in sending 
forth this little volume is to encourage God's children 
to seek by prayer " to move the Arm that moves the 
world." 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

CHAPTER I. 
The Pkateks of the Bible 7 

CHAPTER 11. 
Adoeation 19 

CHAPTER III. 

CONEESSION 25 

CHAPTER IV. 
Restitution , . 41 

CHAPTER V. 
Thanksgiving . 51 

CHAPTER YI. 

FOKGIVENESS 59 

CHAPTER VII. 

Unity 71 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Faith 79 

CHAPTER IX. 

Petition j » . . . 90 

CHAPTER X. 

Submission 102 

CHAPTER XI. 

Answeeed Peayees Ill 

5 



prater. 



Prayer T^as appointed to convey 
The blessings God designs to give; 

Long as they live should Christians pray, 
For only ■while they pray they live. 

And shall we in dead silence lie, 

When Christ stands waiting for our prayer ? 
My soul, thou hast a Friend on high; 

Arise and try thy interest there. 

If pain afflict, or wrongs oppress; 

If cares distract, or fears dismay; 
If guilt deject, if sin distress; 

The remedy's before thee — Pray! 

Depend on Christ, thou canst not fail; 

Make all thy wants and wishes known. 
Fear not; His merits must prevail; 

Ask what thou wilt; it shall.be done! 

— Joseph Hart 



PREVAILING PRAYER, 



CHAPTEE I. 

THE PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE. 

Those who have left the deepest impression on this 
sin-cursed earth have been men and women of prayer. 
You will find that Prayek has been the mighty power 
that has moved not only God, but man. Abraham was 
a man of prayer, and angels came down from heaven 
to converse with him. Jacob's prayer was answered in 
the wonderful interview at Peniel, that resulted in his 
having such a mighty blessing, and in softening the 
heart of his brother Esau; the child Samuel was given 
in answer to Hannah's prayer; Elijah's prayer closed 
up the heavens for three years and six months, and he 
prayed again and the heavens gave rain. 

The Apostle James tells us that the prophet Elijah 
was a man " subject to like passions as we are." I am 
thankful that those men and women who were so 
mighty in prayer were just like ourselves. We are 
apt to think that those prophets and mighty men and 
women of old time were different from what we are. 
To be sure they lived in a much darker age, but they 
were of like passions with ourselves. 

7 



8 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

We read that on another occasion Elijah brought 
down fire on Mount Carmel. The prophets of Baal 
cried long and loud, but no answer came. The God 
of Elijah heard and answered his prayer. Let us 
remember that the God of Elijah still lives. The 
prophet was translated and went up to heaven, but his 
God still lives, and we have the same access to Him 
that Elijah had. We have the same warrant to go to 
God and ask the fire from heaven to come down and 
consume our lusts and passions — to burn up our dross, 
and let Christ shine through us. 

Elisha prayed, and life came back to a dead child. 
Many of our children are dead in trespasses and sins. 
Let us do as Elisha did; let us entreat God to raise 
them up in answer to our prayers. 

Manasseh, the king, was a wicked man, and had done 
everything he could against the God of his father ; yet 
in Babylon, when he cried to God, his cry was heard, 
and he was taken out of prison and put on the throne 
at Jerusalem. Surely if God gave heed to the prayer 
of wicked Manasseh, He will hear ours in the time of 
our distress. Is not this a time of distress with a 
great number of our fellow-men ? Are there not many 
among us whose hearts are burdened? As we go to 
the throne of grace, let us remember that God 

ANSWERS PRAYER. 

Look, again, at Samson. He prayed; and his 
strength came back, so that he slew more at his death 
than during his life. He was a restored blackslider, 
and he had power with God. H those who have been 
backsliders will but return to God, they will see how 
quickly God will answer prayer. 



THE PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE. 



Job prayed, and his captivity was turned. Light 
came in the place of darkness, and God lifted him up 
above the height of his former prosperity — in answer 
to prayer. 

Daniel prayed to God, and Gabriel came to tell him 
that he was a man greatly beloved of God. Three 
times that message came to him from heaven in answer 
to prayer. The secrets of heaven were imparted to 
him, and he was told that God's Son was going to be 
cut off for the sins of His people. We find also that 
Cornelius prayed ; and Peter was sent to tell him words 
whereby he and his should be saved. In answer to 
prayer this great blessing came upon him and his 
household. Peter had gone up to the house-top to pray 
in the afternoon, when he had that wonderful Adsion of 
the sheet let down from heaven. It was when prayer 
was made without ceasing unto God for Peter, that the 
angel was sent to deliver him. 

So all through the Scriptures you will find that when 
believing prayer went up to God, the answer came 
down. I think it would be a very interesting study to 
go right through the Bible and see what has happened 
while God's people have been on their knees calling 
upon him. Certainly the study would greatly strengthen 
our faith — showing, as it would, how wonderfully God 
has heard and delivered, when the cry has gone up to 
Him for help. 

Look at Paul and Silas in the prison at Philippi. 
As they prayed and sang praises, the place was shaken, 
and the jailor was converted. Probably that one con- 
version has done more than any other recorded in the 
Bible to bring people into the Kingdom of God. How 



10 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

many have been blessed in seeking to answer the ques- 
tion — "What must I do to be saved?" It was the 
prayer of those two godly men that brought the jailer 
to his knees, and that brought blessing to him and his 
family. 

You remember how Stephen, as he prayed and 
looked up, saw the heavens opened, and the Son of 
Man at the right hand of God; the light of heaven 
fell on his face so that it shone. Eemember, too, how 
the face of Moses shone as he came down from the 
Mount; he had been in communion with God. So 
when we get really into communion with God, He lifts 
up His countenance upon us ; and instead of our having 
gloomy looks, our faces will shine, because God has 
heard and answered our prayers. 

I want to call special attention to Christ as an 
example for us in all things; in nothing more than in 
prayer. We read that Christ prayed to His Father for 
everything. Every great crisis in His life was pre- 
ceded by prayer. Let me quote a few passages. I 
never noticed till a few years ago that Christ was pray- 
ing at His baptism. As He prayed, the heaven was 
opened, and the Holy Ghost descended on Him. 
Another great event in His life was His Transfigura- 
tion. " As He prayed, the fashion of His countenance 
was altered, and His raiment was white and glister- 
ing." 

We read again: " It came to pass in those days that 
He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all 
night in prayer to God." This is the only place where 
it is recorded that the Savior spent a whole night in 
prayer. What was about to take place? When He 



THE PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE. H 

came down from the mountain He gathered His disci- 
ples around Him, and preached that great discourse 
kno-w^i as the Sermon on the Mount — the most wonder- 
ful sermon that has ever been preached to mortal men. 
Probably no sermon has done so much good, and it 
was preceded by a night of prayer. If our sermons 
are going to reach the hearts and consciences of the 
people, we must be much in prayer to God, that there 
may be power with the word. 

In the Gospel of John we read that Jesus at the 
grave of Lazarus lifted up His eyes to heaven, and 
said: " Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me ; 
and I know that Thou hearest Me always ; but because 
of the people which stand by I said it, that they may 
believe that Thou hast sent Me." Notice, that before 
He spoke the dead to life He spoke to His Father. If 
our spiritually dead ones are to be raised, we must first 
get power with God. The reason we so often fail in 
moving our fellow-men is that we try to win them with- 
out first getting power with God. Jesus Avas in 
communion with His Father, and so He could be 
assured that His prayers were heard. 

We read again, in the twelfth of John, that He prayed 
to the Father. I think this is one of the saddest 
chapters in the whole Bible. He was about to leave 
the Jewish nation and to make atonement for the sin 
of the world. Hear what He says : " Now is My soul 
troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save Me from 
this hour; but for this cause came I unto this hour." 
He was almost under the shadow of the Cross; the ini- 
quities of mankind were about to be laid upon Him ; one 
of His twelve disciples was going to deny Him and swear 



12 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

lie never knew Him ; another was to sell Him for thirty- 
pieces of silver; all were to forsake Him and flee. 
His soul was exceeding sorrowful, and He prays ; when 
His sonl was troubled, God spake to Him. Then in 
the Garden of Gethsemane, while He prayed, an angel 
appeared to strengthen him. In answer to His cry, 
"Father, glorify Thy Name," He hears a voice coming 
down from the glory — " I have both glorified it, and 
will glorify it again." 

Another memorable prayer of our Lord was in the 
Garden of Gethsemane: "He was withdrawn from them 
about a stone's cast, and kneeled down and prayed." I 
would draw your attention to the recorded fact that 
four times the answer came right down from heaven 
while the Savior prayed to God. The first time was 
at His baptism, whan the heavens were opened, and the 
Spirit descended upon Him in answer to His prayer. 
Again, on the Mount of Transfiguration, God appeared 
and spoke to Him. Then when the Greeks came 
desiring to see Him, the voice of God was heard respond- 
ing to His call ; and again, when He cried to the Father 
in the midst of His agony, a direct response was given. 
These things are recorded, I doubt not, that we may be 
encouraged to pray. 

We read that His disciples came to Him, and said, 
"Lord, teach us to pray." It is not recorded that He 
taught them how to preach. I have often said that I 
would rather know how to pray like Daniel than to 
preach like Gabriel. If you get love into your soul, so 
that the grace of God may come down in answer to 
prayer, there will be no trouble about reaching the 
people. It is not by eloquent sermons that perishing 



THE PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE. 13 

souls are going to be reached; we need the power of 
God in order that the blessinor may come down. 

The prayer our Lord taught his disciples is commonly 
called the Lord's Prayer. I think that the Lord's 
prayer, more properly, is that in the seventeenth of John. 
That is the longest prayer on record that Jesus made. 
You can read it slowly and carefully in about four or five 
minutes. I think we may learn a lesson here. Our 
Master's prayers were short when offered in public; 
when He was alone with God that was a different thing, 
and He could spend the whole night in communion 
with His Father. My experience is that those who 
pray most in their closets generally make short prayers 
in public. Long prayers are too often not prayers at 
all, and they weary the people. How short the publi- 
can's prayer was: ''God be merciful to me a sinner!" 
The Syrophenician woman's was shorter still: "Lord 
help me!'' She went right to the mark, and she got 
what she wanted. The prayer of the thief on the cross 
was a short one: •"Lord, remember me when Thou com- 
est into Thy Kingdom!" Peter's prayer was, "Lord, 
save me, or I perish!'' So, if you go through the 
Scriptures, you will fijid that the prayers that brought 
immediate answers were generally brief. Let our prayers 
be to the point, just telling God what we want. 

In the prayer of our Lord, in John xvii, we 
find that He made seven requests — one for Himself, 
four for His disciples around Him, and two for the 
disciples of succeeding ages. Six times in that one 
prayer He repeats that God had sent Him. The world 
looked upon Him as an imposter ; and He wanted them 
to know that He was heaven-sent. He speaks of the 



14 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

world nine times, and makes mention of His disciples 
and those who believe on Him fifty times. 

Christ's last prayer on the Cross was a short one : 
"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." 
I believe that prayer was answered. We find that right 
there in front of the Cross, a Roman centurion was 
converted. It was probably in answer to the Savior's 
prayer. The conversion of the thief, I believe, was in 
answer to that prayer of our blessed Lord. Saul of 
Tarsus may have heard it, and the words may have 
followed him as he traveled to Damascus ; so that when 
the Lord spoke to him on the way, he may have recog- 
nized the voice. One thing we do know; that on the 
day of Pentecost some of the enemies of the Lord were 
converted. Surely that was in answer to the prayer, 
"Father, forgive them!" 
• Hence we see that prayer holds a high place among 
the exercises of a spiritual life. All God's people have 
been praying people. Look, for instance, at Baxter ! 
He stained his study walls with praying breath; and 
after he was anointed with the unction of the Holy 
Ghost, sent a river of living water over Kidderminster, 
and converted hundreds. Luther and his companions 
were men of such mighty pleading with God, that they 
broke the spell of ages, and laid nations subdued 
at the foot of the Cross. John Knox grasped all Scot- 
land in his strong arms of faith; his prayers terrified 
tyrants. Whitefield, after much holy, faithful closet- 
pleading, went to the Devil's fair, and took more than 
a thousand souls out of the paw of the lion in one day. 
See a praying Wesley turn more than ten thou- 
sand souls to the Lord ! Look at the praying Finney, 



THE PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE, 15 

whose prayers, faith, sermons and writings, have shaken 
this whole country, and sent a wave of blessing through 
the churches on both sides of the sea. 

Dr. Guthrie thus speaks of prayer and its necessity: 
"The first true sign of spiritual life, prayer, is also the 
means of maintaining it. Man can as well live physi- 
cally without breathing, as spiritually without praying. 
There is a class of animals — the cetaceous, neither fish 
nor sea-fowl — that inhabit the deep. It is their home, 
they never leave it for the shore; yet, though swim- 
ming beneath its waves, and sounding its darkest 
depths, they have ever and anon to rise to the surface 
that they may breathe the air. Without that, these 
monarchs of the deep could not exist in the dense ele- 
ment in which they live, and move, and have their 
being. And something like what is imposed on them 
by a physical necessity, the Christian has to do by a 
spiritual one. It is by ever and anon ascending up to 
God, by rising through prayer into a loftier, purer 
region for supplies of Divine grace, that he maintains 
his spiritual life. Prevent these animals from rising 
to the surface, and they die for want of breath ; prevent 
the Christian from rising to God, and he dies for want 
of prayer. 'Give me children,' cried Eachel, 'or else 
I die.' 'Let me breathe,' says a man gasping, 'or else 
I die.' 'Let me pray,' says the Christian, 'or else I 
die.' " 

"Since I began," said Dr. Payson when a student, 
"to beg God's blessing on my studies, I have done 
more in one week than in the whole year before." 
Luther, when most pressed with work, said, "I have so 
much to do that I cannot get on without three hours a 



16 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

day praying." And not only do theologians think and 
speak highly of prayer ; men of all ranks and positions 
in life have felt the same. General Havelock rose at 
four o'clock, if the hour for marching was six, rather 
than lose the precious privilege of communion with 
God before setting out. Sir Matthew Hale says: "If I 
omit praying and reading God's Word in the morning, 
nothing goes well all day." 

" A great part of my time," said McCheyne, " is spent 
in getting my heart in tune for prayer. It is the link 
that connects earth with heaven." 

A comprehensive view of the subject will show that 
there are nine elements which are essential to true 
prayer. The first is Adoration ; we cannot meet God 
on a level at the start. We must approach Him as 
One far beyond our reach or sight. The next is Con- 
fession; sin must be put out of the way. We cannot 
have any communion with God while there is any 
transgression between us. If there stands some wrong 
you have done a man, you cannot expect that man's 
favor until you go to him and confess the fault. Resti- 
tution is another; we have to make good the Avrong, 
wherever possible. Thanksgiving is the next ; we must 
be thankful for what God has done for us already. 
Then comes Forgiveness, and then Unity ; and then for 
prayer, such as these things produce, there must be 
Faith. Thus influenced, we shall be ready to offer 
direct Petition. We hear a good deal of praying that 
is just exhorting, and if you did not see the man's 
eyes closed, you would suppose he was preaching. 
Then, much that is called prayer is simply finding 
fault. There needs to be more petition in our prayers. 



THE PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE. 17 

After all these, there must come Submission. While 
praying, we must be ready to accept the will of God. 
We shall consider these nine elements in detail, closing 
our inquiries by giving incidents illustrative of the 
certainty of our receiving, under such conditions, 
Answers to Prayer. 



©Ifte oKour o^ Srauer. 



" Lord, what a change within us one short hour 

Spent in Thy presence will prevail to make ! 

What heavy burdens from our bosoms take; 

What parched grounds refresh as with a shower. 

" We kneel — and all around us seems to lower; 
We rise — and all, the distant and the near, 
Stands forth in sunny outhne brave and clear; 
We kneel: how weak!— we rise: how full of power! 

" Why, therefore, should we do ourselves this wrong, 
Or others — that we are not always strong? 
That we are ever overborne with care; 

That we should ever weak or heartless be, 
Anxious or troubled, while with us is prayer, 

And joy, and strength, and courage, are with Thee?" 

Trench. 



18 



ADORATION. 19 



CHAPTEK II. 

ADORATION. 

This has been defined as the act of rendering Divine 
honor, including in it reverence, esteem and love. It 
literally signifies to apply the hand to the mouth, "to 
kiss the hand;" in Eastern countries this is one of the 
great marks of respect and submission. The import- 
ance of coming before God in this spirit is great, there- 
fore it is so often impressed upon us in the Word of 
God. 

, The Rev. Newman Hall, in his work on the Lord's 
Prayer, says* "Man's worship, apart from revelation, 
has been uniformly characterized by selfishness. We 
come to God either to thank Him for benefits already 
received, or to implore still further benefits: food, rai- 
ment, health, safety, comfort. Like Jacob at Bethel, 
we are disposed to make the worship we render to God 
cor -relative with 'food to eat, and raiment to put on.' 
This style of petition, in which self generally precedes 
and predominates, if it does not altogether absorb, our 
supplications, is not only seen in the votaries of false 
systems, but in the majority of the prayers of professed 
Christians. Our prayers are like the Parthian horse- 
men, who ride one way while they look another; we 
seem to go toward God, but, indeed, reflect upon our- 
selves. And this may be the reason why many times 



20 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

our prayers are sent forth, like the raven out of Noah's 
ark, and never return. But when we make the glory 
of God the chief end of our devotion, they go forth 
like the dove, and return to us again with an olive 
branch." 

Let me refer you to a passage in the prophecies of 
Daniel. He was one of the men who knew how to pray ; 
his prayer brought the blessing of heaven upon him- 
self and upon his people. He says: "I set my face 
unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplica- 
tions, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes; and I 
prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my con- 
fession, and said, G Lord, the great and dreadful God, 
keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love Him, 
and to them that keep His commandments!" 

The thought I want to call special attention to is con- 
veyed in the .words, " O Lord, the great and dreadful- 
God!" Daniel took his right place before God — in the 
dust; he put God in His right place. It was when 
Abraham was on his face, prostrate before God, that 
God spoke to him. Holiness belongs to God; sinful- 
ness belongs to us. 

Brooks, that grand old Puritan writer, says: "A 
person of real holiness is much' affected and taken up 
in the admiration of the holiness of God. Unholy 
persons may be somewhat affected and taken with the 
other excellences of God ; it is only holy souls that are 
taken and affected with His holiness. The more holy 
any are, the more deeply are they affected by this. To 
the holy angels, the holiness of God is the sparkling 
diamond in the ring of glory. But unholy persons are 
affected and taken with anything rather than with this. 



ADORATION. 21 



Nothing strikes the sinner into such a damp as a dis- 
course on the holiness of God; it is as the handwriting 
on the wall ; nothing makes the head and heart of a 
sinner to ache like a sermon upon the Holy One ; noth- 
ing galls and gripes, nothing stings and terrifies un- 
sanctified ones, like a lively setting forth of the holi- 
ness of God. But to holy souls there are no discourses 
that do more suit and satisfy them, that do more de- 
light and content them, that do more please and profit 
them, than those that do most fully and powerfully dis- 
cover God to be glorious in holiness." So, in coming 
before God, we must adore and reverence His name. 
The same thing is brought out in Isaiah: 
" In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the 
Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted ap, and His 
train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim; 
each one had six wings ; with twain he covered his face, 
and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he 
did fly. And one cried unto another, and said: Holy, 
holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full 
of His glory." 

When we see the holiness of God, we shall adore 
and magnif}" Him. Moses had to learn the same lesson. 
God told him to take his shoes from off his feet, for the 
place whereon he stood was holy ground. When we 
hear men trying to make out that they are holy, and 
speaking about their holiness, they make light of the 
holiness of God. It is His holiness that we need to 
think and speak ab^ut ; when we do that, we shall be 
prostrate in the dust. You remember, also, how it was 
with Peter. When Christ made Himself known to 
him, he said, " Depart fi'om me, for I am a sinful man, 



22 PREVAILING PRAYEn. 

O Lord!" A sight of God is enough to show us how 
holy He is, and how unholy we are-. 

We find that Job too, had to be taught the same 
lesson. " Then Job answered the Lord, and said: 
Behold I am vile ; what shall I answer Thee ? I will 
lay my hand upon my mouth." 

As you hear Job discussing with his friends you 
would think he was one of the holiest men who ever 
lived. He was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame ; 
he fed the hungry, and clothed the naked. What a 
wonderfully good man he was ! It was all I, I, L At 
last God said to him, " Gird up your loins like a man, 
and I will put a few questions to you." The moment 
that God revealed Himself, Job changed his language. 
He saw his own vileness, and God's purity. He said, 
" I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, but 
now mine eye seeth Thee; wherefore I abhor myself, 
and repent in dust and ashes." 

The same thing is seen in the cases of those who 
came to our Lord in the days of His flesh; those who 
came aright, seeking and obtaining the blessing, mani-. 
fested a lively sense of His infinite superiority to them- 
selves. The centurion, of whom we read in the eighth 
of Matthew, said: " Lord, I am not worthy that Thou 
shouldest come under my roof;" Jairus "worshiped 
Him," as he presented his request ; the leper, in the 
Gospel of Mark, came "kneeling down to Him;" the 
Syrophenician woman " came and fell at His feet;" the 
man full of leprosy " seeing Jesus, fell on his face." 
So, too the beloved disciple, speaking of the feeling they 
had concerning Him when they were abiding with Him 
as their Lord, said: "We beheld His glory, the glory 



ADORATION. 23 



as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and 
truth." However intimate their companionship, and 
tender their love, they reverenced as much as they com- 
muned, and adored as much as they loved. 

We may say of every act of prayer as George Herbert 
says of public worship : 

" When once thy foot enters the church, be bare; 
God is more than thou; for thou art there 
Only by His permission. Then beware, 
And make thyself all reverence and fear. 
Kneeling- ne'er spoiled silk stocking; quit thy state. 
All equal are within the church's gate." 

The wise man says: "Keep thy foot when thou goest 
to the house of God, and be more ready to hear than to 
give the sacrifice of fools; for they consider not that 
they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not 
thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God ; for 
God is in heaven, and thou upon earth — therefore let 
thy words be few." 

If we are struggling to live a higher life, and to 
know something of God's holiness and purity, what we 
need is to be brought into contact Avitli Him, that He 
may reveal Himself. Then we shall take our place 
before Him as those men of old were constrained to do. 
We shall hallow His Name — as the Master taught His 
disciples, when He said, " Hallowed be Thy Name." 
When I think of the irreverence of the present time, it 
seems to me that we have fallen on evil days. 

Let us, as Christians, when we draw near to God in 
prayer, give Him His right place. " Let us have grace 
whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence 
and Godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire." 



W^e ©Jrii^it'Lj 



" Thou dear and great mysterious Three, 
For ever be adored, 
For ail the endless grace we see 
In our Redeemer stored. 

" The Father's ancient grace we sing, 

That chose us in our Head; 
Ordaining Christ, our God and King, 

To suffer in our stead. 

" The sacred Son, in equal strains. 
With reverence we address, 
For all His grace, and dying pains, 
And splendid righteousness. 

" With tuneful tongue the Holy Ghost 
For His great work we praise, 
Whose power inspires the blood-bought host 
Their grateful voice to raise. 

" Thus the Eternal Three in One 
We join to praise, for grace 
And endless glory through the Son, 
As shining from His face." 



CONFESSION. 25 



CHAPTEE III. 

CONFESSION. 

Another element in true prayer is Confession. I do 
not want Ciiristian friends to think that I am talking 
to the unsaved, I think we, as Christians, have a good 
many sins to confess. 

If you go back to the Scripture records, you will 
find that the men who lived nearest to God, and had 
most power with Him, were those who confessed their 
sins and failures. Daniel, as we have seen, confessed 
his sins and those of his people. Yet there is nothing 
recorded against Daniel. He was one of the best men 
then on the face of the earth, yet was his confession of 
sin one of the deepest and most humble on record. 
Brooks, referring to Daniel's confession, says : "In 
these words you have seven circumstances that Daniel 
useth in confessing of his and the people's sins; and all 
to heighten and aggravate them. First, ' AYe have 
sinned ; ' secondly, ' We have committed iniquity ; ' 
thirdly, ' We have done wdckedly ; ' fourthly, 'We have 
rebelled against thee ; ' fiftly, ' We have departed from 
Thy precepts ; ' sixthly, ' We have not hearkened unto 
Thy servants ; ' seventhly, ' Nor our princes, nor all 
the people of the land.' These seven aggravations 
which Daniel reckons up in his confession are worthy 
our most serious consideration." 



^6 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

Job was no doubt a boly man, a miglity prince, yet 
lie had to fall in the dust and confess his sins. So you 
will find it all through the Scriptures. AVhen Isaiah 
saw the purity and holiness of God, he beheld himself 
in his true light, and he exclaimed, " Woe is me, for 
I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips! 

I firmly believe that the Church of God will have to 
confess her own sins, before there can be any great 
work of grace. There must be a deeper work among 
God's believing people. I sometimes think it is about 
time to give up preaching to the ungodly, and 
preach to those who profess to be Christians. If we 
had a higher standard of life in the Church of God, 
there would be thousands more flocking into the King- 
dom. So it was in the past; when God's believing 
children turned away from their sins and their idols, 
the fear of God fell upon the people round about. 
Take up the history of Israel, and you will fijid that 
when they put away their strange gods, God visited 
the nation, and there came a mighty work of grace. 

What w^e want in these days is a true and deep 
revival in the Church of God. I have little sympathy 
with the idea that God is going to reach the masses by 
a cold and formal church. The judgment of God 
must begin with us. You notice that when Daniel 
got that wonderful answer to prayer recorded in the 
ninth chapter, he was confessing his sin. That is one 
of the best chapters on prayer in the whole Bible. 

We read : " While I was speaking, and praying, 
and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, 
and presenting my supplication before the Lord my 
God for the holy mountain of my God ; yea,» while I 



CONFESSION. 27 



was speakiEg in m.j prayer, even the man Gabriel, 
whom I had seen in the vision at the beofinning^ beinof 
caused to lly svv'if tly, touched me about the time of the 
evening obhitiou. And he informed me, and talked 
with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to 
give thee skill and Imderstanding. '' 

So also when Job was confessing his sin, God turned 
his captivity and heard his prayer. God will hear our 
prayer and turn our captivity when we take our true 
place before Him, and confess and forsake our trans- 
gressions. It was when Isaiah cried out before the 
Lord, ''lam undone," that the blessing came; the 
live coal was taken from the altar and put upon his 
lips ; and he went out to write one of the most wonder- 
ful books the world has ever seen. What a blessing 
it has been to the church ! 

It was when David said, " I have sinned!" that 
God dealt in mercy wdtli him. " I acknowledge my 
sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. 
I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord ; 
and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." Notice 
how David made a very similar confession to that of 
the prodigal in the fifteenth of Luke: "I acknowledge 
my transgressions ; and my sin is ever before me. 
Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this 
evil m Thy sight ! " There is no difference between 
the king and the beggar when the Spirit of God comes 
into the heart and convicts of sin. 

Richard Sibbes quaintly says of confession : " This 
is the way to give glory to God : w^hen we have laid 
open our souls to God, and laid as much against our- 
selves as the devil could do that way, for let us 



28 PREVAILING PRAYER, 

think what the devil would lay to our charge at the 
hour of death and the day of judgment. He would 
lay hard to our charge this and that — let us accuse 
ourselves as he would, and as he will ere long. The 
more we accuse and judge ourselves, and set up a 
tribunal in our hearts, certainly there will follow an 
incredible ease. Jonah was cast into the sea, and 
there was an ease in the ship ; Achan was stoned, and 
the plague was stayed. Out with Jonah, out with 
Achan ; and there will follow ease and quiet in the 
soul presently. Conscience will receive wonderful ease. 

"It must needs be so; for when God is honored, 
conscience is purified. God is honored by confession 
of sin every way. It honors His omniscience, that 
He is all-seeing; that He sees our sins and searches 
our hearts — our secrets are not hid from Him. It 
honours His power. What makes us confess our sins, 
but that we are afraid of His power, lest He should 
execute it ? And what makes us confess our sins, but 
that we know there is mercy with Him that He may be 
feared, and that there is pardon for sin ? We would 
not confess our sins else. With men it is. Confess, 
and have execution ; but with God, Confess, and have 
mercy. It is His own protestation. We should never 
lay open our sins but for mercy. So it honors God; 
and when He is honored, He honors the soul with 
inward peace and tranquillity." 

Old Thomas Fuller says : " Man's owning his weak- 
ness is the only stock for God thereon to graft the grace 
of His assistance." 

Confession implies humility, and this, in God's 
sight, is of great price. 



CONFESSION. 29 



A farmer went with his son into a wheat field, to see 
if it was ready for the harvest. " See, father," exclaimed 
the boy, " how straight these stems hold up their heads! 
They must be the best ones. Those that hang their 
heads down, I am sure cannot be good for much." The 
farmer plucked a stalk of each kind and said: "See 
here, foolish child ! This stalk that stood so straight 
is light-headed, and almost good for nothing; while 
this that hung it^ head so modestly is full of the most 
beautiful grain." 

Outspokenness is needful and powerful, both with 
God and man. We need to be honest and frank with 
ourselves. A soldier said in a revival meeting: "My 
fellow-soldiers, I am not excited ; I am convinced — that 
is all. I feel that I ought to be a Christian ; that I 
ought to say so, to tell you so, and to ask you to come 
with me ; and now if there is a call for sinners seeking 
Christ to come forward, I for one shall go — not to make 
a show, for I have nothing but sin to show. I do not 
go because I want to — I would rather keep my seat ; 
but going will be telling the truth. I ought to be a 
Christian, I want to be a Christian ; and going forward 
for prayers is just telling the truth about it." More 
than a score went with him. 

Speaking of Pharaoh's words, "Entreat the Lord 
that He may take away the frogs from me," Mr. Spur- 
geon says: "A fatal flaw is manifest in that prayer. 
It contains no confession of sin. He says not, ' I have 
rebelled against the Lord; entreat that I may find for- 
giveness !' Nothing of the kind ; he loves sin as much 
as ever. A prayer without penitence is a prayer with- 
out acceptance. If no tear has fallen upon it, it is 



30 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

withered. Tliou must come to God as a sinner through 
a Savior, but by no other way. He who comes to God 
like the Pharisee, with, ' God, I thank Thee that I am 
not as other men are, ' never draws near to God at all ; 
but he who cries, ' God be merciful to me a sinner, ' 
has come to God by the way which God has Himself 
appointed. There must be confession of sin before God, 
or our prayer is faulty." 

If this confession of sin is deep among believers, 
it will be so among the ungodly also. I never knew 
it to fail. I am now anxious that God should revive 
His work in the hearts of His children, so that we may 
see the exceeding sinfulness of sin. There are a great 
many fathers and mothers who are anxious for the con- 
version of their children. I have had as many as fifty 
messages from parents come to me within a single 
week, wondering why their children are not saved, and 
asking prayer for them. I venture to say that, as a 
rule, the fault lies at our own door. There may be 
something in our life that stands in the way. It may 
be there is some secret sin that keeps back the bless- 
ing. David lived in the awful sin into which he fell 
for many months before Nathan made his appearance. 
Let us pray God to come into our hearts, and make 
His power felt. If it is a right eye, let us pluck it out ; 
if it is a right hand, let us cut it off; that we may have 
power with God and with man. 

Why is it that so many of our children are wander- 
ing off into the drinking saloons, and drifting away 
into infidelity — going down to a dishonored grave? 
There seems to be very little power in the Christianity 
of the present time. Many Godly parents find that 



CONFESSION. 31 



their cliilclren are going astray. Does it arise from 
some secret sin clinging around the heart? There is a 
passage of God's Word that is often quoted, but in 
ninety-nine cases out of a hundred those who quote it 
stop at the wrong place. In the fifty-ninth of Isaiah 
we read: " Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, 
that it cannot save, neither His ear heavy, that it can- 
not hear." There they stop. Of course God's hand is 
not shortened, and His ear is not heavy; but we ought 
to read the next verse: " Your iniquities have separ- 
ated between you and your God, and your sins have 
hid His face fr^jii you, that He will not hear. For your 
hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with 
iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath 
muttered perverseness." As Mathew Henry says, " It 
was owing to themselves — they stood in their own light, 
they shut their own door. God was coming toward 
them in the way of mercy, and they hindered Him. 
' Your imqiu'fies have kept good things from you. ' ". 

Bear in mind that if we- ari regarding iniquity in our 
hearts, or living on a mere empty profession, we have 
no claim to expect that our prayers will be answered. 
There is not one solitary promise for us. I sometimes 
tremble when I hear people quote promises, and say that 
God is bound to fulfil those promises to them, when all 
the time there is something in their own lives which 
they are not willing to give up. It is well for us to 
search our hearts, and find out v/hy it is that our 
prayers are not answered. 

That is a very solemn passage in Isaiah: 
"Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; 
give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of 



32 PEEVAILIXG PBAYEE. 

Gomorrali. To what purpose is the multitude pf your 
sacrifices unto me ? saith the Lord. I am full of the 
burnt-offerinofs of rams, and the fat of fed beasts, and 
I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or 
of he goats. When je come to speak before Me, who 
hath required this at your hand, to tread Mj courts ? 
Bring no more vain oblations ; incense is an abomina- 
tion unto Me ; the new moons and Sabbaths, the calling 
of assemblies, I cannot away with — it is iniquity, eyen 
the solemn meeting." 

"Eyen the solemn meeting!" — think of that. If 
God does not get our heart-seryices. He will haye none 
of it ; it is an abomination to Him. 

" Toui' new moons and your appointed feasts My soul 
hateth ; they are are a trouble unto Me : I am weary to 
bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I 
will hide !Mine eyes from you; yea, when "ye make many 
prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood. 
Wash you, make you clean: put away the eyil of your 
doings from before Mine eyes, cease to do eyil, learn to 
do well, seek judgment, relieye the oppressed, judge the 
fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us 
reason together, saith the Lord ; thouo^h your sins be as 
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ; thousrh they be 
red like crimson, they shall be as wool" 

Again we read in Proyerbs: " He that turneth 
away his ear fi'om hearing the law, eyen his prayer 
shall be abomination." Think of that! It may shock 
some of us to think that our prayers are an abomina- 
tion to God, yet if any are liying in known sin, this is 
what God's Word says about them. If we are not will- 
in^ to turn from sin and obey God's law, we haye no 



CONFESSION. 33 



right to expect that He will answer our prayers. 
Unconfessed sin is nnforgiven sin, and unforgiven sin 
is the darkest, foulest thing on this sin-cursed earth. 
You cannot find a case in the Bible where a man has 
been honest in dealing with sin, but God has been 
honest with him and blessed him. The prayer of the 
humble and the contrite heart is a delight to God. 
There is no sound that goes up from this sin-cursed 
earth so sweet to His ear as the prayer of the man who 
is walking uprightly. 

Let me call attention to that prayer of David, in 
which he says: " Search me, O, God, and know my heart; 
try me, and know my thoughts, and see if there be any 
wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting !" 
I wish all my readers would commit these verses to 
memory. If we should all honestly make this prayer 
once every day there would be a good deal of change 
in our lives. " Search me" — not my neighbor. It is 
so easy to pray for other people, but so hard to get 
home to ourselves. I am afraid that we who are busy 
in the Lord's work, are very often in danger of neglect- 
ing our vineyard. In this Psalm, David got home to 
himself. There is a difference between God searching 
me and my searching myself. I may search my heart, 
and pronounce it all right, but when God searches me 
as with a lighted candle, a good many things will come 
to light that perhaps I knew nothing about. 

" Try me." David w^as tried v/hen he fell by taking 
his eye off from the God of his father Abraham. 
^' Know mi) ihougMsy God looks at the thoughts. 
Are our thoughts pure? Have we in our hearts 
thoughts against God or against His people — against 

a 



34 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

any one in the world? If we have, we are not right 
in the sight of God. Oh, may God search us, every 
one! I do not know any better prayer that we can 
make than this prayer of David. One of the most 
solemn things in the Scripture history is that when holy 
men — better men than we are — were tested and tried, 
they were found to be as weak as water away from God. 

Let us be sure that we are right. Isaac Ambrose, 
in his work on " Self Trial," has the following pithy 
words: " Now and then propose we to our hearts these 
two questions: 1. 'Heart, how dost thou?' — a few 
words, but a very serious question. You know this is 
the first question and the first salute that we use to 
one another — How do you do? I would to God we 
sometimes thus spoke to our hearts : ' Heart, how dost 
thou ? How is it with thee, for thy spiritual state ?' 2. 
' Heart, what wilt thou do ?' or, ' Heart, what dost thou 
think will become of thee and me?' — as that dying 
Roman once said : ' Poor, wretched, miserable 
soul, whither art thou and I going — and what will 
become of thee, when thou and I shall part?' 

" This very thing does Moses propose to Israel, 
though in other terms, 'Oh that they would consider^ their 
latter end!' — and oh that we would put this question 
constantly to our hearts, to consider and debate upon ! 
' Commune with your own hearts,' said David; that is, 
debate the matter betwixt you and your hearts to the 
very utmost. Let your hearts be so put to it in com- 
muning with them, as that they may speak their very 
bottom. Commune — or hold a serious communication 
and clear intelligence and acquaintance — with your own 
hearts." 



CONFESSION. 35 



It was the confession of a divine, sensible of his 
neglect, and especially of the difficulty of this duty: 
" I have lived," said he, " forty years and somewhat 
more, and carried my heart in my bosom all this while, 
and yet my heart and I are as great strangers, and as 
utterly unacquainted, as if we had never come near one 
another. Nay, I know not my heart; I have forgotten 
my heart. Alas! alas! that I could be grieved at the 
very heart, that my poor heart and I have been so 
unacquainted! We are fallen into an Athenian age, 
spending our time in nothing more than in telling or 
hearing news. How go things here? How there? 
How in one place ? How in another ? But who is there 
that is inquisitive ? How are things with my poor heart ? 
Weigh but in the balance of a serious consideration, 
what time we have spent in this duty, and what time 
otherwise ; and for many scores and hundreds of hours 
or days that we owe to our hearts in this duty, can we 
write fifty? Or where there should have been fifty 
vessels full of this duty, can we find twenty, or ten ? 
Oh, the days, months, years, we bestow upon sin, vanity, 
the affairs of this world, while we afford not a minute 
in converse with our own hearts concerning their 
case!" 

If there is anything in our lives that is wrong, let us 
ask God to show it to us. Have we been selfish ? Have 
we been more jealous of our own reputation than of 
the honor of God? Elijah thought he was very jeal- 
lous for the honor of God; but it turned out that it 
was his own honor after all — self was really at the 
bottom of it. One of the saddest things, I think, 
tliat Qhrist had to meet with in His disciples 



36 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

was this very thing; there was a constant struggle 
between them as to who should be the greatest, 
instead of each one taking the humblest place and 
being least in his own estimation. 

We are told in proof of this, that " He came to Caper- 
naum; and being in the house He asked them, What 
was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way ? 
But they held their peace, for by the way they had 
disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. 
And He sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto 
them. If any man desire to be first, the same shall be 
the last of all, and servant of all. And He took a 
child, and set him in the midst of them ; and when He 
had taken him in His arms, He said unto them. Who- 
soever shall receive one of such children in My name, 
receiveth Me ; and whosoever shall receive Me, receiv- 
eth not Me, but Him that sent Me." 

Soon after "James and John, the sons of Zebedee, 
come unto Him, saying, Master, we would that Thou 
shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And 
He said unto them. What would ye that I should do 
for you? They said unto Him, Grant unto us that we 
may sit, one on Thy right hand, and the other on Thy 
left hand, in Thy glory. But Jesus said unto them. 
Ye know not what ye ask ; can ye drink of the cup that 
I drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I 
am baptized with ? And they said unto Him, We can. 
And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of 
the cup that I drink of ; and with the baptism that I am 
baptized withal shall ye be baptized; but to sit on My 
right hand and on My left hand is not Mine to give ; 
but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. 



CONFESSION. 37 



And when the ten heard it, they began to be much dis- 
pleased with James and John. But Jesus called them 
to Him, and saitli unto them: Ye know that they 
which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise 
lordship over them ; and their great ones exercise author- 
ity upon them. But so shall it not be among you; 
but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your 
minister ; and whosoever of you will be the chief est, 
shall be servant of all. For even the Son of Man 
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to 
give His life a ransom for many." 

The latter words were spoken in the third year of 
His ministry. Three years the disciples had been with 
Him; they had listened to the words that fell from His 
lips ; yet they had failed to learn this lesson of humility. 
The most humiliating thing that happened among the 
chosen twelve occurred on the night of our Lord's 
betrayel, when Judas sold Him, and Peter denied Him. 
If there was any place where there should have been an 
absence of these thoughts, it was at the Supper -table. 
Yet we find that when Christ instituted that blessed 
memorial there was a debate going on among His dis- 
ciples who should be the greatest. Think of that! — 
riofht under the Cross, when the Master was " exceedinof 
sorro-w-ful, even unto death;" was already tasting the 
bitterness of Calvary, and the horrors of that dark horn- 
were gathering upon Eis soul. 

I think if God searches us, we will find a good many 
things in our lives for us to confess. If we are tried 
and tested by God's law, there will be many, many 
things that will have to be changed. I ask again: Are 
we selfish or jealous ? Are we willing to hear of others 



38 PREVAILING PJRAYER 

being used of God more than Ave are ? Are our Meth- 
odist friends willing to hear of a great revival of God's 
work among the Baptists? Would it rejoice their 
souls to hear of such efforts being blessed? Are Bap- 
tists willing to hear of a reviving of God's work in the 
Methodist, Congregational, or other churches? If we 
are full of narrow, party and sectarian feelings, there 
will be many things to be laid aside. Let us pray to 
God to search us, and try us, and see if there be any 
evil way in us. If these holy and good men felt that they 
were faulty, should we not tremble, and endeavor to 
find out if there is anything in our lives that God would 
have us get rid of? 

Once again, let me call your attention to the prayer 
of David contained in the fifty-first Psalm. A friend 
of mine told me some years ago that he repeated this 
prayer as his own every week. I think it would be a 
good thing if we offered up these petitions frequently ; 
let them go right up from our hearts. If we have been 
proud, or irritable, or lacking in patience, shall we not 
at once confess it ? Is it not time that we began at 
home, and got our lives straightened out? See how 
quickly the ungodly will then begin to inquire the way 
of life! Let those of us who are parents set our own 
houses in order, and be filled with Christ's Spirit; then 
it will not be long before our children will be inquir- 
ing what they must do to get the same Spirit. I believe 
that to-day, by its lukewarmness and formality, the 
Christian Church is making more infidels than all 
the books that infidels ever wrote. I do not fear infidel 
lectures half so much as the cold and dead formalism 
in the professing church at the present time. One 



CONFESSION. 39 



prayer-meeting like that the disciples had on the day 
of Pentecost, would shake the \yhole infidel fraternity. 
What Ave want is to get hold of God in prayer. You 
are not going to reach the masses by great sermons. 
We want to ''move the Arm that moves the world." 
To do that, we must be clear and ris^ht before God. 
" For if oiu' heart condemn us, God is greater than our 
heart, and knoweth all things, Beloved, if oui' heart 
condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God; 
and whatsoever we ask. we receive of Him, because we 
keep His commandments, and do those things that are 
pleasing in His sight." 



(^onfex^xf^Ior^, 



" No, not despairingly 

Come I to Thee ; 
No, not distrnstingly 

Bend I the knee ; 
Sin hath gone over me. 
Yet is this still my plea, 

Jesus hatli died. 

" Ah, mine inicinity 

Crimson has been ; 
Infinite, infinite. 

Sin upon sin ; 
Sin of not loving Thee, 
Sin of not trusting Thee. 

Infinite sin. 

" Lord, I confess to Thee 
Sadly my sin ; 
AU I am, tell I Thee, 

All I have been. 
Purge Thou my sin away. 
Wash Thou my soul this day ; 
Lord, make me clean ! " 

— Di: H. Bonar. 



RESTITUTION. 41 



CHAPTEE lY. 

RESTITUTION. 

A third element of successful prayer is Eestitu- 
TION. If I have at any time taken what does not 
belong to me, and am not willing to make restitution, 
niy prayers will not go very far toward heaven. It is 
a singular thing, but I have hever touched on this sub- 
ject in my addresses, without hearing of immediate 
results. A man once told me that I would not need to 
dwell on this point at a meeting I was about to address, 
as probably there would be no one present that would 
need to make restitution. But I think if the Spirit of God 
searches our hearts, we shall most of us find a good many 
things have to be done that we never thought of before. 

After Zaccheus met with Christ, things looked alto- 
gether different. I venture to say that the idea of mak- 
ing restitution never entered into his mind before. He 
thought, probably, that morning that he was a perfectly 
honest man. But when the Lord ' came and spoke to 
him, he saw himself in an altogether different light. 
Notice how short his speech was. The only thing put 
on record that he said was this: "Behold, Lord, the 
half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have 
taken anything from any man by false accusation, I 
restore him fourfold." A short speech; but how the 
words have come ringing down through the ages! 



42 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

By making that remark he confessed his sin — that he 
had been dishonest. Besides that, he showed that he 
knew the requirements of the hiw of Moses. If a man 
had taken what did not belong to him, he was not only 
to return it, but to multiply it by four. I think that 
men in this dispensation ought to be fully as honest as 
men under the Law. I am getting so tired and sick of 
your mere sentimentalism, that does not straighten out 
a man's life. We may sing our hymns and psalms, and 
offer prayers, but they will be an abomination to God, 
unless we are willing to be thoroughly straightforward 
in our daily life. Nothing will give Christianity such 
a hold upon the world as to* have God's believing people 
begin to act in this way. Zaccheus had probably more 
influence in Jericho after he made restitution than any 
other man in it. 

Finney, in his lectures to professing Christians, says: 
" One reason for the requirement, ' Be not conformed 
to this world,' is the immense, salutary, and instantan- 
eous influence it would have, if everybody would do busi- 
ness on the principles of the Gospel. Turn the tables 
over, and let Christians do business one year on Gospel 
principles. It would shake the world ! It would ring 
louder than thunder. Let the ungodly see professing 
Christians in every bargain consulting the good of the 
person they are trading with — seeking not their own 
wealth, but every man another's wealth — living above 
the world — setting no value on the Avorld any further 
than it would be the means of glorifying God ; what do 
you think would be the efl'ect? It would cover the 
world with confusion of face, and overwhelm them with 
conviction of sin." 



RESTITUTION. 43 



Finney makes one grand mark of genuine repent- 
ance to be restitution. " Tlie thief has not repented who 
keeps the money he stole. He may have conviction, but 
no repentance. If he had repentance, he would go and 
give back the money. If you have cheated any one, and 
do not restore what you have taken unjustly ; or if you 
have injured any one, and do not set about to undo the 
wrong you ha^^e done, as far as in you lies, you have 
not truly repented." 

In Exodus we read — " If a man steal an ox, or a 
sheep, and kill it, or sell it, he shall restore five oxen 
for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep." And again: " If 
a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and 
shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man's 
field ; of the best of his own field, and of the best of 
his own vineyard shall he make restitution. If 
fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks 
of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed 
therewith, he that kindled the fire shall surely make 
restitution." 

Or turn to Leviticus, where the law of the trespass- 
offering is laid down — the same point is there insisted 
on with equal clearness and force. 

" If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the 
Lord, and lie unto his neighbor in that which was 
delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing 
taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbor; 
or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning 
it, and sweareth falsely ; in any of all these that a man 
doeth, sinning therein ; then it shall be, because he 
hath sinned and is guilty, that he shall restore that 
which he took violently away, or the thing which he 



44 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him 
to keep, or the lost thing which he found, or all that 
about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even 
restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part 
more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it apper- 
taineth, in the day of his trespass offering." 

The same thing is repeated in Numbers, where we 
read — " And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying. 
Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or 
woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a 
trespass against the Lord, and that person be guilty; 
then they shall confess their sin which they have done; 
and he shall recompense his trespass with the princi- 
pal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and 
give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed. 
Bnt if the man have no kinsman to recompense the 
trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the 
Lord, even to the priest, beside the ram of the atone- 
ment, whereby an atonement shall be made of him." 

These were the laws that God laid down for His 
people, and I believe their principle is as binding to- 
day as it was then. If we have taken anything from 
any man, if we have in any way defrauded a man, let 
us not only confess it, but do all we can to make resti- 
tution. If we have misrepresented any one — if we have 
started some slander, or some false report about him — 
let us do all in our power to undo the wrong. 

It is in reference to a practical righteousness such 
as this that God says in Isaiah — " Behold, ye fast for 
strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wicked- 
ness ; ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your 
voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I 



RESTITUTION. 45 



have chosen ? A day for a man to afflict his soul ? Is 
it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread 
sackcloth and ashes under him ? Wilt thou call this a 
fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord ? Is not this 
the fast that I have chosen — to loose the bands of wick- 
edness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the 
oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke ? Is 
it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou 
bring the poor that are cast out to thy house ? When 
thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, and that 
thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then 
shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine 
health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteous- 
ness shall go before thee, the glory of the Lord shall be 
thy reward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord 
shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say. Here I 
am." 

Trapp in his comment on Zaccheus, says: "Sultan 
Selymus could tell his councillor Pyrrhus, who per- 
suaded him to bestow the great wealth he had taken 
from the Persian merchants upon some notable hospi- 
tal for relief of the poor, that God hates robbery for 
burnt-offering. The dying Turk commanded it rather 
to be restored to the right owners, which was done 
accordingly, to the great shame of many Christians, 
who mind nothing less than restitution. When Henry 
III of England had sent the Friar Minors a load of 
frieze to clothe them, they returned the same with this 
message, ' that he ought not to give alms of what he had 
rent from the poor ; neither would they accept of that 
abominable gift.' Master Latimer saith, ' If ye make 
no restitution of goods detained, ye shall cough in 



46 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

hell, and the devils shall laugh at you.' Henry VII, 
in his last will and testament, after the disposition of 
his soul and body, devised and willed restitution should 
be made of all such moneys as had unjustly been 
levied by his officers. Queen Mary restored again all 
ecclesiastical livings assumed to the croAvn, saying 
that she set more by the salvation of her own soul, 
than she did by ten kingdoms. A bull came also from 
the Pope, at the same time, that others should do the 
like, but none did. Latimer tells us that the first day 
he preached about restitution, one came and gave him 
£20 to restore ; the next day another brought him £30 ; 
another time another gave him £200. 

" Mr. Bradford, hearing Latimer on that subject, was 
struck in the heart for one dash of the pen which he 
had made without the knowledge of his master, and 
could never be quiet till, by the advice of Mr. Latimer, 
restitution was made, for which he did willingly forego 
all the private and certain patrimony which he had on 
earth. 'I, myself,' saith Mr. Barroughs, 'knew one 
man who had wronged another but of five shillings, 
and fifty years after could not be quiet till he had 
restored it.' " 

If there is true repentance it will bring forth fruit. 
If we have done wrong to some one, we should never 
ask God to forgive us until we are willing to make resti- 
tution. If I have done any man a great injustice and 
can make it good, I need not ask God to forgive me 
until I am willing to do so. Suppose I have taken some- 
thing that does not belong to me. I cannot expect for- 
give ness until I make restitution. I remember preach- 
ing in an Eastern city, and a fine-looking man came up 



RESTITUTION. 47 



to me at the close. He was in great distress of mind. 
" The fact is," he said, "I am a defaulter. I have 
taken money that belonged to my employers. How can 
I become a Christian without restoring it?" "Have 
you got the money?" He told me he had not got it all. 
He had taken about 1,500 dollars, and he still had about 
900. He said, '• Could I not take that money and go 
into business, and make enough to pay them back?" I 
told him that was a delusion of Satan, that he could 
not expect to prosper on stolen money; that he 
should restore all he had, and go and ask his 
employers to have mercy upon him, and forgive him. 
" But they will put me in prison," he said. " Can you 
not give me any help?" "No; you must restore the 
money before you can expect to get any help from 
God." "It is pretty hard," he said. "Yes, it is 
hard ; but the great mistake was in doing the wrong at 
first." His burden became so hea^-y that it was, in 
fact, unbearable. He handed me the money — 950 
dollars and some cents — and asked me to take it back 
to his employers. I told them the story, and said that 
he wanted mercy from them, not justice. The tears 
trickled down the cheeks of these two men, and they 
said, "Forgive him! Yes, we will be glad to forgive 
him." I Avent down stairs and brought him up. 
After he had confessed his guilt and been forgiven, 
we all fell down on our knees and had a blessed prayer- 
meeting. God met us and blessed us there. 

There was another friend of mine who had come 
to Christ and was trying to consecrate * himself and his 
wealth to God. He had formerly had transactions with 
the Government, and had taken advantage of them. 



48 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

This thing came to memory, and his conscience 
troubled him. He had a terrib] e struggle ; his conscience 
kept rising up and smiting him. At last he drew a 
check for 1500 dollars, and sent it to the Treasury of 
the Government. He told me he received such a bless- 
ing after he had done it. That is bringing forth fruits 
meet for repentance. I believe a great many men are 
crying to God for light; and they are not getting it 
because they are not honest. 

A man came to one of our meetings, when this sub- 
ject was touched upon. The memory of a dishonest 
transaction flashed into his mind. He saw at once 
how it was that his prayers were not ansvrered, but 
" returned into his o^\ai bosom," as the Scripture phrase 
puts it. He left the meeting, took the train, and went 
to a distant city, where he had defrauded his employer 
years before. He went straight to this man confessed 
the wrong, and offered to make restitution. Then he 
remembered another transaction, in which he had failed 
to meet the just demands upon him ; he at once made 
arrangements to have a large amount repaid. He came 
back to the place where we were holding the meetings, 
and God blessed him wonderfully in his own soul. I 
have not met a man for a long time who seemed to have 
received such a blessing. 

Some years ago, in the north of England, a woman 
came to one of the meetings, and appeared to be very 
anxious about her soul. For some time she did not 
seem to be able to get peace. The truth was, she was 
covering up one thing that she was not willing to con- 
fess. At last, the burden was too great ; and she said to a 
worker: " I never go down on my knees to pray, but a 



RESTITUTION. 49 



few bottles of wine keep coming up before my mind." 
It appeared that years before, when she was house- 
keeper, she had taken some bottles of wine belonging 
to her employer. The worker said: "Why do you 
not make restitution?" The woman replied that the 
man was dead ; and besides, she did not know how much 
it was worth. "Are there any heirs living to whom 
you can make restitution ?" She said there was a son 
living at some distance ; but she thought it would be a 
very humiliating thing, so she kept back for some time. 
At last she felt as if she must have a clear conscience 
at any cost, so she took the train, and went to the place 
where the son of her employer resided. She took five 
pounds with her, she did not exactly know what the 
wine was worth, but that would cover it at any rate. 
The man said he did not want the money, but she 
replied, "I do not want it; it has burnt my pocket 
long enough." So he agreed to take the half of it, 
and give it to some charitable object. Then she came 
back ; and I think she was one of the happiest mortals I 
have ever met with. She said she could not tell whether 
she was in the body or out of it — such a blessing had 
come to her soul. 

It may be that there is something in our lives that 
needs straightening out; something that happened per- 
haps twenty years ago, and that has been forgotten till 
the Spirit of God brought it to our remembrance. If 
we are not willing to make restitution, we cannot expect 
God to give us great blessing. Perhaps that is tho 
reason so many of our prayers are not answered. 



per^ecf (^feaaAi ng. 



"Who wonld be cleansed from every sin, 
Must to God's holy altar bring 

The whole of life — its joys, its tears, 
Its hopes, its loves, its powers, its years. 
The will, and every cherished thing! 

" Must make this sweeping sacrifice — 

Choose God, and dare reproach and shame, 
And boldly stand in storm or flame 
For Him who paid redemption's price; 
Then trust (not struggle to believe). 
And trusting wait, nor doubt, but pray 
That in His own good time He'll say, 
'Thy faith hath saved thee; now receive.' 

" His time is when the soul brings all, 
Is all upon His altar lain; 
When pride and self-conceit are slain. 
And crucified with Christ, we fall 
Helpless upon His word, and lie; 

When, faithful to His word, we feel 
The cleansing touch, the Spirit's seal, 
And know that He does sanctify." 

A. T. AlUs. 



THANKSGIVING. 51 



CHAPTEK Y. 
THANKSGIVING. 

The next thing I would mention as an element of 
prayer is Thanksgiving. We ought to be more thank- 
ful for what we get from God. Perhaps some of you 
mothers have a child in your family who is constantly 
complaining — never thankful. You know that there 
is not much pleasure in doing anything for a child 
like that. If you meet with a beggar who is always 
grumbling, and never seems to be thankful for what 
you give, you very soon shut the door in his face alto- 
gether. Ingratitude is about the hardest thing we 
have to meet with. The great English poet says: 

"Blow, blow, thou winter wiad — 
Thou art not so unkind 
As man's ingratitude; 
Thy tooth is not so keen, 
Because thou art not seen, 

Although thy breath be rude." 

We cannot speak too plainly of this evil, which so 
demeans those who are guilty of it. Even in Christians 
there is but too much of it to be seen. Here we are, 
getting blessings from God day after day; yet how 
little praise and thanksgiving there is in the Church of 
God! 

Gurnall, in his Christian Armor, referring to the 
words, "In everything give thanks," says: " 'Praise is 



52 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

comely for the upright.' ' An unthankful saint ' carries 
a contradiction with it. Evil and Unthankful are twins 
that live and die together; as any one ceaseth to be 
evil, he begins to be thankful. It is that which God 
expects at your hands; He made you for this end. 
When the vote passed in heaven for your being — yea, 
happy being in Christ! — it was upon this account, that 
you should be a name and a praise to Him on earth in 
time, and in heaven to eternit}\ Should God miss 
this, He would fail of one main part of His design. 
What prompts Him to bestow every mercy, but to afford 
you matter to compose a song for His praise ? ' They 
are My people, children that will not lie; so He was 
their Savior.' 

"He looks for fair dealing at your hands. Whom 
may a father trust with his reputation, if not his child ? 
Where can a prince expect honor, if not among his 
favorites ? Your state is such that the least mercy you 
have is more than all the world besides. Thou, Christ- 
ian, and thy few brethren, divide heaven and earth 
among you! What hath God that He withholds from 
you? Sun, moon and stars are set up to give you 
light; sea and land have their treasures for your use; 
others are encroachers upon them; you are the right- 
ful heirs to them ; they groan that any others should 
be served by them. The angels, bad and good, min- 
ister unto you; the evil, against their will, are forced 
like scullions when they tempt you, to scour and 
brighten your graces, and make way for your greater 
comforts ; the good angels are servants to your heavenly 
Father, and disdain not to carry you in their arms. 
Tour God withholds not Himself from you ; He is your 



THANKSGIVING. 53 



portion — Father, Husband, Friend. God is His own 
happiness, and admits you to enjoy Him. Oh, what 
honor is this, for the subject to drink in his prince's 
cup! 'Thou shalt make them drink of the river of 
Thy pleasures.' And all this is not the purchase of 
your sweat and blood; the feast is paid for by Another, 
only He expects your thanks to the Founder. No sin- 
offering is imposed under the Gospel; thank-offerings 
are all He looks for." 

Charnock^ in discoursing on Spiritual Worship, says: 
"The praise of God is the choicest sacrifice and wor- 
ship, under a dispensation of redeeming grace. This 
is the prime and eternal part of worship under the 
Gospel. The Psalmist, speaking of the Gospel times, 
spurs on to this kind of worship : ' Sing unto the Lord 
a new song; let the children of Zion be joyful in their 
King; let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing 
aloud upon their beds ; let the high praises of God be 
in their mouth.' He begins and ends both Psalms 
with Praise ye the Lord! That cannot be a spiritual 
and evangelical worship that hath nothing of the praise 
of God in the heart. The consideration of God's 
adorable perfections discovered in the Gospel will 
make us come to Him with more seriousness, beg bless- 
ings of Him with more confidence, fly to Him with a 
winged faith and love, and more spiritually glorify Him 
in our attendances upon Him." 

There is a great deal more said in the Bible about 
praise than prayer; yet how few praise-meetings there 
are! David, in his Psalms, always mixes praise with 
prayer. Solomon prevailed much with God in prayer 
at the dedication of the temple ; but it was the voice of 



54 PREVAILING PLAYER. 

praise which brought down the glory that filled the 
house; for we read: "And it came to pass, when the 
priests were come out o£ the holy place (for all the 
priests that were present were sanctified, and did not 
then wait by course ; also the Levites, which were the 
singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, 
with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in 
white linen, having cymbals, and psalteries, and harps, 
stood at the east end of the altar, and with them a 
hundred and twenty priests, sounding with trumpets) ; 
it came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers 
were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising 
and thanking the Lord ; and when they lifted up their 
voice with the trumpets, and cymbals, and instruments 
of music, and praised the Lord, saying, Tor He is 
good ; for His mercy endureth forever ;' that then the 
house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the 
Lord; so that the priests could not stand to minister 
by reason of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had 
filled the house of God." 

We read, too, of Jehosaphat, that he gained the 
victory over the hosts of Ammon and Moab through 
praise, which was excited by faith and thankfulness to 
God. 

"And they rose early in the morning, and went forth 
into the wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went forth, 
Jehoshaphat stood and said, 'Hear me, O Judah, and 
ye inhabitants of Jerusalem ; believe in the Lord your 
God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, 
so shall ye prosper; ' and when he had consulted with 
the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and 
that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went 



THANKSGIVING. 55 



out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord ;-' for 
His mercy endureth for ever,' And when they began to 
sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against 
the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, which 
which were come against Jndah; and they were 
smitten." 

It is said that in a time of great despondency among 
the first settlers in New England, it was proposed in 
one of their public assemblies to proclaim a fast. An 
old farmer arose; spoke of their provoking heaven 
with their complaints, reviewed their measures, showed 
that they had much to be thankful for, and moved that 
instead of appointing a day of fasting, they should 
appoint a day of thanksgiving. This was done; and 
the custom has been continiied ever since. 

However great our difficulties, or deep even our sor- 
rows, there is room for thankfulness. Thomas Adams 
has said: "Lay up in the ark of thy memory not only 
the pot of manna, the bread of life ; but even Aaron's 
rod, the very scourge of correction, wherewith thou 
hast been bettered. Blessed be the Lord, not only 
giving, but taking away, saith Job. God who sees 
there is no walking upon roses to heaven, puts His 
children into the way of discipline ; and by the fire of 
correction eats out the rust of corruption. God sends 
trouble, then bids us call upon Him; promiseth our 
deliverance; and lastly, the all He requires of us is to 
glorify Him. ' Call upon Me in the day of trouble ; I 
will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me." Like the 
nightingale, we can sing in the night, and say with 
John Newton — 



56 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

" Since all that I meet shall work for my good, 
The bitter is sweet, the medicine food ; 
Though painful at present, 'twill cease before long. 
And then — oh, how pleasant ! — the conqueror's song." 

Among all the apostles none suffered so much as Paul ; 
but none of them do we find so often giving thanks as 
he. Take his letter to the Philippians. Eemember 
what he suffered at Philippi ; how the j laid many stripes 
upon him, and cast him into prison. Yet every chapter 
in that Epistle speaks of rejoicing and giving thanks. 
There is that well-known passage : "Be careful for noth- 
ing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, 
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known 
unto God." As some one has said, there are here three 
precious ideas: "Careful for nothing; prayerful for 
everything; and thankful for anything." We always 
get more by being thankful for what God has done for 
us. Paul says' again: "We give thanks to God, the 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for 
you." So he was constantly giving thanks. Take up 
any one of his Epistles, and you will find them full of 
praise to God. 

Even if nothing else called for thankfulness, it 
would always be an ample cause for it that Jesus Christ 
loved us, and gave Himself for us, A farmer was once 
found kneeling at a soldier's grave near Nashville. 
Some one came to him and said: " Why do you pay so 
much attention to this grave? Was your son buried 
here?" "No," he said. "During the war my family 
were all sick, I knew not how to leave them. I was 
drafted. One of my neighbors came over and said : ' I 
will go for you; I have no family.' He went off. He 



THANKSGIVING. 57 



was wounded at Chickamaiiga. He was carried to tlie 
hospital, and there died. And, sir, I have come a great 
many miles, that I might write oyer his grave these 
words, ^ He died for me.'' " 

This the believer can always say of his blessed Savior, 
and in the fact may well rejoice. " By Him therefore, 
let us offer the sacrifice of praise continually, that is, 
the fruit of oui* lips, giving thanks to His name." 



U^e- praix^e o^ S^o(\. 



" Speak, lips of mine ! 
And tell abroad 
The praises of my God. 
Speak, stammering tongue ! 
In gladdest tone, 
Make His high praises known. 

" Speak, sea and earth ! 

Heaven's utmost star. 
Speak from your realms afar! 
Take up the note. 

And send it round 
Creation's farthest bound. 

". Speak, heaven of heavens ! 
Wherein our God 
Has made His bright abode. 
Speak, angels, speak ! 
In songs proclaim 
His everlasting name. 

" Speak, son of dust ! 

Thy flesh He took 
And heaven for thee forsook. 
Speak, child of death ! 
Thy death He died. 
Bless thou the Crucified." 

— Dr. Bonar. 



FORGIVENESS. 59 



CHAPTEE VI. 

FORGIVENESS. 

The next thing is perhaps the most difficnlt of all to 
deal with — Forgiveness. I believe this is keeping 
more people from having power with God than any 
other thing — they are not willing to cultivate the spirit 
of forgiveness. If we allow the root of bitterness to 
spring np in our hearts against some one, our prayer 
vnll not be answered. It may not be an easy thing to 
live in sweet fellowship with all those with whom we 
come in contact; but that is what the grace of God is 
given to us for. 

The disciples' prayer is a test of sonship; if we can 
pray it all from the heart we have good reason to think 
that we have been born of God. No man can call God 
Father but by the Spirit. Though this prayer has been 
such a blessing to the world, I believe it has been a 
great snare ; many stumble over it into perdition. They 
do not weigh its meaning, nor take its facts right into 
their hearts. I have no sympathy with the idea of 
universal sonship — that all men are the sons of God. 
The Bible teaches very plainly that we are adopted into 
the family of God. If all were sons God would not 
need to adopt any. We are all God's by creation ; but 
when people teach that any man can say, "Our Father 
which art in heaven," whether he is born of God or not, 



60 PREVAILING PRAYEn. 

I think that is contrary to Scripture. " As many as 
are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." 
Sonship in the family is the privilege of the believer. 
" In this the children of God are manifest, and the 
children of the devil," says the Apostle. If we are 
doing the will of God, that is a very good sign that we 
are born of God. If we have no desire to do that will, 
how can we call God "Our Father?" 

Another thing. We cannot really pray for God's 
kingdom to come until we are in it. If we should 
pray for the coming of God's kingdom while we are 
rebelling against Him, we are only seeking for our own 
condemnation. No unrenewed man really wants God's 
will to be done on the earth. You might write over 
the door of every unsaved man's house, and over his 
place of business, " God's will is not done here." 

If the nations were really to put up this prayer, all 
their armies could be discharged. They tell us there 
are some twelve millions of men in the standing armies 
of Europe alone. But men do not want God's will 
done on earth as it is in heaven ; that is the trouble. 

Now let us come to the part I want to dwell upon: 
" Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that 
trespass against us." This is the only part of the 
prayer that Christ explained. 

"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly 
Father will also forgive you; but if ye forgive not 
men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive 
your trespasses." 

Notice that when you go into the door of God's king- 
dom, you go in- through the door of forgiveness. I 
never knew of a man getting a blessing in his own soul, 



FORGIVENESS. 61 



if he was not willing to forgive others. If we are 
unwilling to forgive others, God cannot forgive us. 
I do not know how language could be more plain than 
it is in these words of our Lord. I firmly believe a 
great many prayers are not answered because we are 
not willing to forgive some one. Let your mind go 
back over the past, and through the circle of your 
acquaintance; are there any against whom you are 
cherishing hard feelings ? Is there any root of bitter- 
ness springing up against some one who has perhaps 
injured you? It may be that for months or years you 
have been nursing this unforgiving spirit ; how can you 
ask God to forgive you? If I am not willing to for- 
give those who may have committed some single offence 
against me, what a mean, contemptible thing it would 
be for me to ask God to forgive the ten thousand sins 
of which I have been guilty ! 

But Christ goes still further. He says: "If thou 
bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that 
thy brother hath aught against thee ; leave there thy 
gift before the altar, and go thy way ; first be recon- 
ciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." 
It may be that you are saying: " I do not know that I 
have anything against any one." Has any one any- 
thing against you ? Is there some one who thinks you 
have done them wrong? Perhaps you have not; but it 
may be they think you have. I Avill tell you what I 
would do before I go to sleep to-night ; I would go and 
see them, and have the question settled. Tou will 
find that, you will be greatly blessed in the very 
act 

Supposing you are in the right and they are in 



62 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

the wrong ; you may win your brother or sister. May 
God root out of all our hearts this unforgiving spirit. 

A gentleman came to me some time ago, and wanted 
me to talk to his wife about her soul. That woman 
seemed as anxious as any person I ever met, and I 
thought it would not take long to lead her into the 
light ; but it seemed that the longer I talked with her, the 
more her darkness increased. I went to see her again 
the next day, and found her in still greater darkness of 
soul. I thought there must be something in the way 
that I had not discovered, and I asked her to repeat 
with me this disciples' prayer. I thought if she could 
say this prayer from the heart, the Lord would meet 
her in peace. I began to repeat it sentence after sen- 
tence, and she repeated it after me until I came to this 
petition: "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive 
them that trespass against us." There she stopped. 
I repeated it the second time, and waited for her to say 
it after me; she said she could not do it. "What is 
the trouble?" She replied, "There is one woman I 
never will forgive." " Oh," I said, " I have got at 
your difficulty; it is no use my going on to pray, for 
your prayers will not go higher than my head. God 
says He will not forgive you unless you forgive others. 
If you do not forgive this woman, God will never for- 
give you. That is the decree of heaven." She said, 
" Do you mean to say that I cannot be forgiven until I 
have forgiven her?" " No, I do not say it; the Lord 
says it, and that is far better authority." Said she, 
"Then I will never be forgiven." I left 'the house 
without having made any impression on her. A few 
years after, I heard that this woman was in an asylum 



FORGIVENESS. 63 



for the insane. I believe this spirit of unforgiveness 
drove her mad. 

If there is some one who has aught against you, go 
at once, and be reconciled. If you have aught against 
any one, ^\Tite to them a letter, telling them that you 
forgive them, and so have this thing off your con- 
science. I remember being in the inquiry-room some 
years ago; I was in one corner of the room, talking to 
a young lady. There seemed to be something in the 
way, but I could not find out what it was. At last I 
said, "Is there not some one you do not forgive?" 
She looked up at me, and said, " What made you ask 
that? Has anyone told you about me?" "No," I 
said; "but I thought perhaps that might be the case, 
as you have not received forgiveness yourself." "Well," 
she said, pointing to another corner of the room, 
where there w^as a young lady sitting, "I have had 
trouble with that young lady ; we have not spoken to 
each other for along time." "Oh," I said, "it is all 
plain to me now; you cannot be forgiven until you are 
willing to forgive her." It was a great struggle. 
But then you know, the greater the cross the greater 
the blessing. It is human to err, but it is Christ-like to 
forgive and be forgiven. At last this young lady said : 
' I will go and forgive her." Strange to say, the same 
conflict was going on in the mind of the lady in the 
other part of the room. They both came to their 
right mind about the same time. They met each other 
in the middle of the floor. The one tried to say that she 
forgave the other, but they could not finish ; so they 
rushed into each other's arms. Then the four of us — 
the two seekers and the two workers — got down on our 



64 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

knees together, and we had a grand meeting. These 
two went away rejoicing. 

Dear friend, is this the reason why your prayers are 
not answered? Is there some friend, some member of 
your family, some one in the church, you have not for- 
given? We sometimes hear of members of the same 
church who have not spoken to each other for years. 
How can we expect God to forgive when this is the 
case? 

I remember one town that Mr. Sankey and myself 
visited. For a week it seemed as if we were beating 
the air; there was no power in the meetings. At last I 
said one day that perhaps there was some one cultivat- 
ing this unforgiving spirit. The Chairman of our 
committee, who was sitting next to me, got up and left 
the meeting right in view of the audience. The arrow 
had hit the mark, and gone home to the heart of the 
Chairman of the committee. He had had trouble with 
some one for about six months. • He at once hunted up 
this man and asked him to forgive him. He came to 
me with tears in his eyes, and said: "I thank God you 
ever came here." That night the inquiry-room w^as 
thronged. The Chairman became one of the best 
workers I have ever known, and he has been active in 
Christian service ever since. 

Several years ago the Church of England sent a 
devoted missionary to New Zealand. After a few years 
of toil and success, he was one Sabbath holding a com- 
munion service in a district where the converts had not 
long since been savages. As the missionary was con- 
ducting the service, he observed one of the men, just 
as he was about to kneel at the rail, suddenly start to 



FORGIVENESS. 65 



his feet and hastily go the opposite end of the church. 
By and by he returned, and calmly took his place. 
After service the clergyman took him on one side, and 
asked the reason for his strange behavior. He replied : 
" As I was about to kneel I recognized in the man next 
to me the chief of a neighboring tribe, who had mur- 
dered my father, and drunk his blood ; and I had sworn 
by all the gods that I would slay that man at the first 
opportunity. The impulse to have my revenge, at the 
first almost overpowered me, and I rushed away, as 
you saw me, to escape the power of it. As I stood at 
the other end of the room and considered the object of 
our meeting, I thought of Him who prayed for His 
own murderers : ' Father, forgive them, for they know 
not what they do.' And I felt that I could forgive the 
murderer of my father, and came and knelt down at 
his side." 

As one has said: " There is an ugly kind of forgive- 
ness in the world — a kind of hedgehog forgiveness, 
shot out like quills. Men take one who has offended, 
and set him down before the blow-pipe of their indig- 
nation, and scorch him, and burn his fault into him; 
and when they have kneaded him sufficiently with their 
fists, then they forgive him." 

The father of Frederick the Great, on his death-bed, 
was warned by M. Koloff, his spiritual adviser, that he 
was bound to forgive his enemies. He was quite 
troubled, and after a moment's pause said to the 
Queen: "You, Feekin, may write to your brother (the 
King of England) after I am dead, and tell him that 
I forgave him, and died at peace wdth him." " It 
w^ould be better, " M. Eoloff mildly suggested, " that 
5 



66 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

your majesty should write at once." " No," was the 
stern reply. " Write after I am dead. That will be 
safer." 

Another story tells of a man who, supposing he was 
about to die, expressed his forgiveness to one who had 
injured him, but added: " Now you mind, if I get well, 
the old grudge holds good." 

My friends, that is not forgiveness at all. I believe 
true forgiveness includes forgetting the offence — 
putting it entirely away out of our hearts and 
memories. 

As Matthew Henry says: "We do not forgive our 
offending brother aright nor acceptably, if we do not 
forgive him from the heart, for it is that God looks at. 
No malice must be harbored there, nor ill-will to any; 
no projects of revenge must be hatched there, nor 
desires of it, as there are in many who outwardly 
appear peaceful and reconciled. We must from the 
heart desire and seek the welfare of those who have 
offended us." 

If God's forgiveness were like that often shown by 
us, it would not be worth much. Supposing God said : 
"I will forgive you, but I will never forget it; all 
through eternity I will keep reminding you of it;" we 
should not feel that to be forgiveness at all. Notice 
what God says: " I will remember their sin no more." 
In a passage in Ezekiel it is said that not one of our 
sins shall be mentioned ; is not that like God ? I do like 
to preach this forgiveness — the sweet truth that sin is 
blotted out for time and eternity, and shall never once 
be mentioned against us. In another Scripture we read: 
" Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." 



FORGIVENESS. 67 



Then when you turn to the eleventh chapter of the 
Hebrews, and read God's roll of honor, jou find that 
not one of the sins of any of those men of faith is 
mentioned. Abraham is spoken of as the man of faith ; 
but it is not told how he denied his wife down in Egypt ; 
all that ha4 been forgiven. Moses was kept out of the 
Promised Land because he lost patience ; but this is not 
mentioned in the New Testament, though his name 
appears in the Apostle's roll of honor. Samson, too, 
is named, but his sins are not brought up again. Why, 
we even read of "righteous Lot;" he did not look much 
like a righteous man in the Old Testament story, but he 
has been forgiven, and God has made him "righteous." 
If we are once forgiven by God, our sins will be 
remembered against us no more. This is God's eternal 
decree. 

Brooks says of God's pardon granted to His people: 
" When God pardons sin, He takes it sheer away; that 
if it should be sought for, yet it could not be found ; as 
the prophet Jeremiah speaks : ' In those days, and in 
that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall 
be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of 
Judah, and they shall not be found ; for I will pardon 
them whom I reserve.' As David, when he saw in 
Mephibosheth the features of his friend Jonathan, took 
no notice of his lameness, or any other defect or 
deformity; so God, beholding in His people the glorious 
image of His Son, winks at all their faults and deform- 
ities, which made Luther say, ' Do with me what thou 
wilt, since Thou hast pardoned my sin.' And what is 
it to pardon sin, but not to mention sin ?" 

We read in the Gospel of Matthew: " Moreover, if 



68 PREVAILING PRAYER, 

thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him 
his fault between thee and him alone ; if he shall hear 
thee, thou hast gained thy brother." Then a little 
further on we read that Peter comes to Christ and says : 
" How oft shall my brother sin against me, and I for- 
give him? Till seven times?" Jesus replied, "I say not 
unto thee, until seven times; but until seventy times 
seven." Peter did not seem to think that he was in danger 
of falling into sin; his question was. How often should 
I forgive my brother? But very soon we hear that 
Peter has fallen. I can imagine that when he did fall, 
the sweet thought came to him of what the Master had 
said about forgiving until seventy times seven. The 
voice of sin may be loud, but the voice of forgiveness 
is louder. 

Let us enter into David's experience, when he said: 
" Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose 
sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the 
Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there 
is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old 
through my roaring all the day long. For day and 
night Thy hand was heavy upon me ; my moisture is 
turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged 
my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I 
said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; 
and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." 

David could look below, above, behind and before ; 
to the past, present, and future ; and know that all was 
well. Let us make up our mind, that we will not rest 
until this question of sin is for ever settled, so that we 
can look up and claim God as our forgiving Father. 
Let us be willing to forgive others, that we may be 



FORGIVENESS. 69 



able to claim forgiveness from God, remembering the 
words of the Lord Jesus, how fie said: " If ye forgive 
men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also 
forgive you; but if ye forgive not men their tres- 
passes, neither will your Father forgive your tres- 



p arc|o r^ . 



' Now, oh joy! my sins are pardoned! 

Now I can and do believe ! 
All I have, and am, and shall be. 

To my precious Lord I give; 
He roused my deathly slumbers, 

He dispersed my soul's dark night; 
Whispered peace, and drew me to Him 

Made HimseK" my chief dehght. 

Let the babe forget its mother, 

Let the bridegroom slight his bride; 
True to him, I'll love none pther, 

Cleaving closely to His side. 
Jesus, hear my soul's confession; 

Weak am I, but strength is Thine; 
On Thine arms for strength and succor, 

Calmly may my soul recline!" 

Albert Midlane. 



JO 



UNITY. 71 



CHAPTEK YII. 

UNITY. 

The next thing we need to have, if we would get our 
prayers answered, is — Unity. If we do not love one 
another we certainly shall not have much power with 
God in Prayer. One of the saddest things in the present 
day is the division in God's Church. You notice that 
when the power of God came upon the early church, 
it was when they were all of one accord. I believe the 
blessing of Pentecost never would have been given but 
for that spirit of unity. If they had been divided 
and quarreling among themselves, do you think the 
Holy Ghost would have come, and those thousands 
been converted ? I have noticed in our work, that if 
we have gone to a to^vn where three churches were 
united in it, we have had greater blessing than if only 
one church was in sympathy. And if there have been 
twelve churches united, the blessing has multiplied 
fourfold ; it has always been in proportion to the spirit 
of unity that has been manifested. Where there are 
bickerings and divisions, and where the spirit of 
unity is absent, there is very little blessing and praise. 

Dr. Guthrie thus illustrates this fact; he says: 
"Separate the atoms which make the hammer, and 
each would fall on the stone as a snowflake ; but welded 
into one, and ^^delded by the firm arm of the (quarry 



72 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

man, it will break tlie massive rocks asunder. Divide 
the waters of Niagara into distinct and individual drops, 
and they would be no more than the falling rain, but in 
their united body they would quench the fires of 
Vesuvius, and have some to spare for the volcanoes of 
other mountains." 

History tells us that it was agreed upon by both 
armies of the Eomans and the Albans to put the trial 
of all to the issue of a battle betwixt six brethren — 
three on the one side, the sons of Curatius, and three 
on the other, the sons of Horatius. While the Curatii 
were united, though all three sorely wounded, they 
killed two of the Heratii. The third began to take to 
his heels, though not hurt at all ; and when he saw them 
follow slowly, one after another, because of wounds and 
heavy armor, he fell upon them singly, and slew all 
three. It is the cunning sleight of the devil to divide 
us that he may destroy us. 

We ought to endure much and sacrifice much, rather 
than permit discord and division to prevail in our 
hearts. . Martin Luther say s : "When two goats meet 
upon a narrow bridge over deep water, how do they 
behave? Neither of them can turn back again, neither 
can pass the other, because the bridge is too narrow ; if 
they should thrust one another they might both fall 
into the water and be drowned. Nature, then, has 
taught them that if the one lays himself down and 
permits the other to go over him, both remain unhurt. 
Even so people should rather endure to be trod upon 
than to fall into debate and discord one with another." 

Cawdray says: "As in music, if the harmony of 
tones be not complete they are offensive to the cultivated 



UNITY. 73 



ear ; so if Christians disagree among themselves they 
are unacceptable to God." 

There are diversities of gifts — that is clearly taught 
— but there is one Spirit. If we have all been redeemed 
with the same blood, we ought to see eye to eye in 
spiritual things. Paul writes: " Now there are diver- 
sities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differ- 
ences of administrations, but the same Lord." 

Where there is union I do not believe any power, 
earthly or infernal, can stand before the work. When 
the church, the pulpit, and the pew, get united, and 
God's people are all of one mind, Christianity is like a 
red-hot ball rolling over the earth, and all the hosts of 
death and hell cannot stand before it. I believe that 
men will then come flocking into the Kingdom by 
hundreds and thousands. " By this," says Christ, 
" shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have 
love one to another." If only we love one another, and 
pray for one another, there will be success. God will 
not disappoint us. 

There can be no real separation or division in the 
true Church of Christ ; they are redeemed by one price, 
and indwelt by one Spirit. If I belong to the family 
of God, I have been bought with the same blood, though 
I may not belong to the same sect or party as another. 
What we want to do is to get these miserable sectarian 
walls taken away. Our weakness has been in our divis- 
ion ; and what we need is that there should be no 
schism or division among those who love the Lord Jesus 
Christ. In the First Epistle to the Corinthians we read 
of the first symptoms of sectarianism coming into the 
early church — 



74 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

" Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, 
and that there be no division among you ; but that ye be 
perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the 
same judgment. Fo:^ it hath been declared unto me of 
you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of 
Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Noav 
this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; 
and I of Apollos ; and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is 
Christ divided ? Was Paul crucified for you ? Or were ye 
baptized in the name of Paul?" 

Notice how one said, " I am of Paul;" and another, 
"lam of Apollos;" and another, "lam of Cephas." 
Apollos was a young orator, and the people had been 
carried away by his eloquence. Some said Cephas, or 
Peter, was of the regular Apostolic line, because he had 
been with the Lord, and Paul had not. So they were 
divided, and Paul wrote this letter in order to settle 
the question. 

Jenkyn, in his commentary on the Epistle of Jude, 
says: " The partakers of a 'common salvation,' who 
here agree in one way to heaven, and who expect to be 
hereafter in one heaven, should be of one heart. It is 
the Apostle's inference in Ephesians. What an amaz- 
ing misery is it, that they who agree in common faith 
should disagree like common foes! That Christians 
should live as if faith had banished love ! This common 
faith should allay and temper our spirits in all our 
differences. This should moderate our minds, though 
there is inequality in earthly relations. What a power- 
ful motive was that of Joseph's brethren to him to for- 
give their sin, they being both his brethren, and the 



UNITY. 75 



servants of the God of his fathers! Though our own 
breath cannot blow out the taper of contention, oh, yet 
let the blood of Christ extinguish it !" 

What a strange state of things Paul, Cephas, and 
Apollos would find if they would come to the world 
to-day ! The little tree that sprang up at Corinth has 
grown up into a tree like Nebuchadnezzar's, with many 
of the fowls of heaven gathered into it. Suppose Paul 
and Cephas were to come down to us now, they would 
hear at once about our Churchmen and Dissenters. 
"A Dissenter!" says Paul, " what is that ? " " We have 
a Church of England, and there are those who dis- 
sent from the Church. " "Oh, indeed! Are there two 
classes of Christians here, then?" "I am sorry to say 
there are a good many more divisions. The Dis- 
senters themselves are split up. There are Wesleyans, 
Baptists, Presbyterians, Independents, and so on; even 
these are all divided up." "Is it possible," says Paul, 
" that there are so many divisions ? " " Yes ; the Church 
of England is pretty well divided itself. There is the 
Broad Church, the High Church, the Low Church, and 
the High-Lows. Then there is the Lutheran Church ; 
and away in Kussia they have the Greek Church, and 
so on." I declare I do not know what Paul and Cephas 
would think if they came back to the world ; they would 
find a strange state of things. It is one of the most 
humiliating things in the present day to see how God's 
family is divided up. If we love the Lord Jesus Christ 
the burden of our hearts will be that God may bring 
us closer together, so that we may love one another and 
rise above all party feeling. 

In repairing a church in one of the Boston wards, 



76 PREVAILING PRAYER 

the inscription upon the wall behind the pulpit was 
covered up. Upon the first Sabbath after repairs, 
"little five-jear-old" whispered to her mother: "I 
know why God told the paint men to cover that pretty 
verse up. It was because the people did not love 
one another." The inscription was; "A new 
commandment I give unto you, that ye love one 
another." 

A Boston minister says he once preached on "The 
Recognition of Friends in the Future," and was told 
after service by a hearer, that it would be more to the 
point to preach about the recognition of friends here, 
as he had been in the church twenty years, and did not 
know any of its members. 

I was in a little town some time ago, when one night 
as I came out of the meeting, I saw another building 
where the people were coming out. I said to a friend, 
"Have you got two churches here?" "Oh yes." 
" How do you get on? " " Oh, we get on very well." 
" I am glad to hear that. Was your brother minister 
at the meeting? " " Oh no, we don't have anything to 
do with each other. We find that is the best way." 
And they called that "getting on very well." Oh, may 
God make us of one heart and of one mind ! Let our 
hearts be like drops of water flowing together. Unity 
among the people of God is a sort of foretaste of heaven. 
There we shall not find any Baptists, or Methodists, or 
Congregationalists, or Episcopalians; we shall all be 
one in Christ. We leave all our party names behind 
us when we leave this earth. Oh that the Spirit of God 
may speedily sweep away all these miserable walls that 
we have been building up! 



UNITY. 77 



Did you ever notice that the last prayer Jesus Christ 
made on earth, before they led Him away to Calvary, 
was that His disciples might all be one? He could 
look down the stream of time, and see that divisions 
would come — how Satan would try to divide the flock 
of God. Nothing will silence infidels so quickly as 
Christians everywhere being united. Then our testi- 
mony will have weight with the ungodly and the 
careless. But when they see how Christians are divided, 
they will not believe their testimony. The Holy Spirit 
is grieved; and there is little power where there is 
no unity. 

If I thought I had one drop of sectarian blood in my 
veins, I would let it out before I went to bed; if I had 
one sectarian hair in my head, I would pull it out. Let 
us get right to the heart of Jesus Christ; then our 
prayers will be acceptable to God, and showers of bless- 
ings will descend. 



u 



n I o 



" Let party names no more be knoTra 
Among the ransomed throng ; 
For JesTis claims them for His own; 
To Him they all belong. 

" One in their covenant Head and King, 
They should be one in heart; 
Of one salvation all should sing, 
Each claiming his own part. 

'• One bread, one family, one rock. 
One building, formed by love, 
One fold, one Shepherd, yea, one flock, 
They shall be oue above." 

Jose^jh Irons. 



78 



FAITH. 79 



CHAPTER Till. 

FAITH. 

Another element is Faith, It is as important for 
us to know how to pray as it is to know how to work. 
We are not told that Jesns ever tanght His disciples 
how to preach, but He taught them how to pray. He 
wanted them to have power with God; then He knew 
they would have power with man. In James we read: 
" If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God . 

and it shall be given him : but let him ask in faith, 
nothing wavering." So faith is the golden key that 
unlocks the treasures of heaven. It was the shield 
that Da^id took when he met Goliath on the field; he 
believed that God was going to deliver the Philistine 
into his hands: Some one has said .that faith could 
lead Christ about anywhere; wherever He found it He 
honored it. Unbelief sees something in God's hand, 
and says, "I cannot get it." Faith sees it, and says, 
"I will have it." 

The new life begins with faith ; then we have only ot 
goon building on that foundation. ''I say unto you, 
what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe 
that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." But 
bear in mind, we must be in earnest when we go to 
God. 

I do not know of a more vivid illustration of the cry 



80 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

of distress for help going up to God, in all the earnest- 
ness of deeply realized need, than the following story 
supplies : 

Carl Steinman, who visited Mount Hecla, Iceland, 
just before the great eruption, in 1845, after a repose 
of eighty years, narrowly escaped death by venturing 
into the smoking crater against the earnest entreaty of 
his guide. On the brink of uhe yawning gulf he was 
prostrated by a convulsion of the summit, and held 
there by blocks of lava upon his feet. He graphically 
writes : 

"Oh, the horrors of that awful realization! There, 
over the mouth of a black and heated abyss, I was held 
suspended, a helpless and conscious prisoner, to be 
hurled downward by the next great throe of trembling 
Nature ! 

" ' Help! help! help!— for the love of God, help!' I 
shrieked, in the very agony of my despair. 

" I had nothing to rely upon but the mercy of heaven ; 
and I prayed to God as I had never prayed before, for 
the forgiveness of my sins, that they might not follow 
me to judgment. 

" All at once I heard a shout, and, looking around, 
I beheld, with feelings that cannot be described, my 
faithful guide hastening down the sides of the crater to 
my relief. 

"'I warned you ! ' said he. 

" ' You did!' cried I, 'but forgive me, and save me, 
for I am perishing! ' 

" ' I will save you, or perish with you! ' 

" The earth trembled, and the rocks parted — one of 
them rolling down the chasm with a dull, booming 



FAITH. 81 



sound. I sprang forward ; I seized a hand of the guide, 
and the next moment we had both fallen, locked in each 
other's arms, upon the solid earth above. I was free, 
but still upon the verge of the pit." 

Bishop Hall, in a well-known extract, thus puts the 
point of earnestness in its relation to the prayer of 
faith. 

" An arrow, if it be drawn up but a little way, goes 
not far ; but, if it be pulled up to the head, flies swiftly 
and pierces deep. Thus prayer, if it be only dribbled 
forth from careless lips, falls at our feet. It is the 
strength of ejaculation and strong desire which sends 
it to heaven, and makes it pierce the clouds. It is not 
the arithmetic of our prayers, how many they are; nor 
the rhetoric of our prayers, how eloquent they be ; nor 
the geometry of our prayers, how long they be; nor 
the music of our prayers, how sweet our voice may be ; 
nor the logic of our prayers, how argumentative they 
may be ; nor the method of our prayers, how orderly 
they may be ; nor even the divinity of our prayers, how 
good the doctrine may be ; — ^which God cares for. He 
looks not for the horny knees which James is said to 
have had through the assiduity of prayer. We might 
be like Bartholomew, who is said to have had a hundred 
prayers for the morning, and as many for the evening, 
and all might be of no avail. Fervency of spirit is 
that which availeth much." 

Archbishop Leighton says: "It is not the gilded 
paper and good writing of a petition that prevails with 
a king, but the moving sense of it. And to that King 
who discerns the heart, heart-sense is the sense of all, 
and that which He only regards. He listens to hear 
6 



82 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

what that speaks, and takes all as nothing where that is 
silent. All other excellence in prayer is but the out- 
side and fashion of it. This is the life of it." 

Brooks says: "As a painted fire is no fire, a dead 
man no man, so a cold prayer is no prayer. In a 
painted fire there is no heat, in a dead man there is no 
life ; so in a cold prayer there is no omnipotency, no 
devotion, no blessing. Cold prayers are as arrows 
without heads, as swords without edges, as birds without 
wings ; they pierce not, they cut not, they fly not up to 
heaven. Cold prayers do always freeze before they 
get to heaven. Oh that Christians would chide them- 
selves out of their cold prayers, and chide themselves 
into a better and warmer frame of spirit, when they 
make their supplications to the Lord!" 

Take the case of the Syrophenician woman. When 
she called to the Master, it seemed for a time as if He 
were deaf to her request. The disciples wanted her to 
be sent away. Although they were with Christ for 
three years, and sat at His feet, yet they did not know 
how full of grace His heart was. Think of Christ 
sending away a poor sinner who had come to Him for 
mercy! Can you conceive such a thing? Never once 
did it occur. This poor woman put herself in the place 
of her child. "Lord, help me!" she said. I think 
when we get so far as that in the earnest desire to have 
our friends blessed — when we put ourselves in their 
place — God will soon hear our prayer. 

I remember, a number of years ago at a meeting, I 
asked all those who wished to be prayed for to come 
forward and kneel or take seats in front. Among those 
who came was a woman. I thought by her looks that 



FAITH. 83 



she must be a Christian, but she knelt down with the 
others. I said: "You are a Christian, are you not?" 
She said she had been one for so many years. "Did 
you understand the invitation? I asked those only 
who wanted to become Christians." I shall never for- 
get the look on her face as she replied, "I have a 
son who has gone far away ; I thought I would take his 
place to-day, and see if God would not bless him." 
Thank God for such a mother as that! 

The Syrophenician woman did the same thing — 
" Lord help meP^ It was a short prayer, but it went 
right to the heart of the Son of God. He tried her 
faith, however. He said: "It is not meet to take the 
children's bread and cast it to dogs." She replied: 
" Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which 
fall from their masters' table." " O woman, great is 
thy faith!" What a eulogy He paid to her! Her story 
will never be forgotten as long as the church is on the 
earth. He honored her faith, and gave her all she asked 
for. Every one can say, "Lord, help me!" We all need 
help. As Christians, we need more grace, more love, 
more purity of life, more righteousness ? Then let us 
make this prayer to-day. I want God to help me to 
preach better and to live better, to be more like the Son 
of God. The golden chains of faith link us right to 
the throne of God, and the grace of heaven flows down 
into our souls. 

I do not know but that woman was a great sinner; 
still, the Lord heard her cry. It may be that up to 
this hour you have been living in sin ; but if you will 
cry, "Lord help me!" He will answer your prayer, if it 
is an honest one. Yery often when we cry to God we 



84 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

do not really mean anything. You mothers understand 
that. Your children have two voices. When they ask 
you for anything, you can soon tell if the cry is a make- 
believe one or not. If it is, you do not give any heed 
to it; but if it is a real cry for help, how quickly you 
respond! The cry of distress always brings relief. 
Your child is playing around, and it says, '' Mamma, I 
want some bread;" but it goes on playing. You know 
that it is not very hungry ; so you let it alone. But, by 
and by, the child drops the toys, and comes tugging at 
your dress. "Mamma, I am so hungry!" Then you 
know that the cry is a real one ; you soon go to the 
pantry, and get some bread. "When we are in earnest 
for the bread of heaven, we will get it. This woman 
was terribly in earnest; therefore her petition was 
answered. 

I remember hearing of a boy brought up in an 
English almshouse. He had never learned to read or 
write, except that he could read the letters of the alpha- 
bet. One day a man of God came there, and told the 
children that if they prayed to God in their trouble, 
He would send them help. After a time, this boy was 
apprenticed to a farmer. One day he was sent out 
into the fields to look after some sheep. He was hav- 
ing rather a hard time; so he remembered what the 
preacher had said, and he thought he would pray to 
God about it. Some one going by the field heard a 
voice behind the hedge. They looked to see whose it 
was, and saw the little fellow on his knees, saying, "A, 
B, C, D," and so on. The man said, "My boy, what 
are you doing?" He looked up, and said he was pray- 
ing. "Why, that is not praying; it is only saying' 



FAITH. 8B 



the alphabet." He said he did not know just how to 
pray, but a man once came to the poor-house, who told 
them that if they called upon God, He would help 
them. So he thought that if he named over the let- 
ters of the alphabet, God would take them and put 
together into a prayer, and give him what he wanted. 
The little fellow was really praying. Sometimes, when 
your child talks, your friends cannot understand what 
he says ; but the mother understands very well. So if 
our prayer comes right from the heart, God under- 
stands our language. It is a delusion of the devil to 
think we cannot pray; we can, if we really want any- 
thing. It is not the most beautiful or the most elo- 
quent language that brings down the answer; it is the 
cry that goes up from a burdened heart. When this 
poor Gentile woman cried out, "Lord, help me!" the cry 
flashed over the divine wires and the blessing came. 
So you can pray if you will; it is the desire, the wish 
of the heart, that God delights to hear and to answer. 

Then we must expect to receive a blessing. When 
the centurion wanted Christ to heal his servant, he 
thought he was not worthy to go and ask the Lord 
himself, so he sent his friends to make the petition. He 
sent out messengers to meet the Master, and say, "Do 
not trouble yourself to come; all you have to do is to 
speak the word, and the disease will go." Jesus said 
to the Jews, " I have not found so great faith, no, not 
in Israel." He marvelled at the faith of this centurion; 
it pleased Him, so that he healed the servant then and 
there. Faith brought the answer. 

In John we read of a nobleman whose child was 
sick. The father fell on his knees before the Master, 



86 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

and said, " Come down, ere my child die.". Here you 
have both earnestness and faith ; and the Lord answered 
the prayer at once. The nobleman's son began to 
amend that very hour. Christ honored the man's faith. 

In his case there was nothing to rest upon but the 
bare word of Christ, but this was enough. It is well to 
bear always in mind, that the object of faith is not the 
creature, but the Creator ; not the instrument, but the 
Hand that wields it. 

Eichard Sibbes puts it for us thus: " The object in 
believing is God, and Christ as Mediator. We must 
have both to found our faith upon. "We cannot believe 
in God, except we believe in Christ. For God must be 
satisfied by God ; and by Him that is God raust that 
satisfaction be applied — the Spirit of God — by working 
faith in the heart, and for raising it up when it is 
dejected. All is supernatural in faith. The things we 
believe are above nature ; the promises are above nature ; 
the worker of it, the Holy Ghost, is above nature; 
and everything in faith is above nature. There must 
be a God in whom we believe, and a God through whom 
we may know that Christ is God — not only by that 
which Christ hath done, the miracles, which none could 
do but God, but also by what is done to Him. And two 
things are done to Him, which show that He is God — 
that is, faith and prayer. We must believe only in God, 
and pray only to God; but Christ is the object of both 
these. Here He is set forth as the object of faith, and 
of prayer in that of Saint Stephen, ' Lord Jesus, 
receive my spirit.' And, therefore. He is God; for 
that is done unto Him which is proper and peculiar 
only to God. Oh, what a strong foundation, what bottom 



FAITH, 87 



and basis our faith liatli ! There is God the Father, Son 
and Holy Ghost, and Christ the Mediator. That our 
faith may be supported, we have Him to believe on 
who supports heaven and earth. 

" There is nothing that can lie in the way of the 
accomplishment of any of God's promises, but it is 
conquerable by faith." 

As Samuel Kutherford says, commenting on the case 
of the Syrophenician woman: "See the sweet use of 
faith under a sad temptation; faith trafficketh with 
Christ and heaven in the dark, upon plain trust and 
credit, without seeing any surety of dawn: Blessed 
are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.' 
And the reason is because faith is sinewed and boned 
with spiritual courage; so as to keep a barred city 
against hell, yea, and to stand under impossibilities ; 
and here is a weak woman, though not as a woman, yet 
as a believer, standing out against Him who is ' the 
Mighty God, the Father of Ages, the Prince of Peace.' 
Faith only standeth out, and overcometh the sword, the 
world, and all afflictions. This is our victory, whereby 
one man overcometh the great and vast world." 

Bishop Ryle has said of Christ's intercession as the 
ground and sureness of our faith: "The bank-note 
without a signature at the bottom is nothing but a 
worthless piece of paper. The stroke of a pen confers 
on it all its value. The prayer of a poor child of Adam 
is a feeble thing in itself, but once indorsed by the 
hand of the Lord Jesus, it availeth much. There was 
an officer in the city of Rome who was appointed to 
have his doors always open, in order to receive any 
Roman citizen who applied to him for help. Just so 



PREVAILIXG PRAYER. 



the ear of the Lord Jesns is ever open to the cry of all 
who want mercy and grace. It is His office to help 
them. Their prayer is His delight. Eeader, think of 
this. Is not this encouragement? 

Let us close this chapter by referring to some of our 
Lord's own words concerning faith in its relation to 
prayer : 

•' And when He saw a fig-tree in the way, He came 
to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and 
said unto it: Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward 
for ever. And presently the fig-tree withered away. 
And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying. 
How soon is the fig-tree withered away ! Jesus answered 
and said unto them, Yerily I say unto you, if ye have 
faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is 
done to the fig-tree, but also if ye shall say unto this 
mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the 
sea, it shall be done. And all things whatsoever ye 
shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." 

So again our Lord says: "Yerily, verily, I say 
unto you. he that believeth on Me, the works that I do 
shall he do also ; and greater works than these shall he 
do ; because I go unto My Father. And whatsoever ye 
shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father 
may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything 
in My name, I -will do it." And further: "If ye abide 
in Me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what 
ye will, audit shall be done unto you." " Yerily, verily, 
I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in 
My name. He will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked 
nothing in My name ; ask. and ye shall receive, that 
your joy may be full." 



u 



^a^e iJaifft in ©yoc^. 



99 



" Have faith in God, for He who reigns on high 
Hath borne thy grief, and hears the supphant's sigh; 
Still to His arms, thine only refuge, fly, 

Have faith in God! 

" Fear not to call on Him, O soul distressed ! 
Thy sorrow's whisper woos thee to His breast; 
He who is oftenest there is oftenest blest. 

Have faith in God ! 

•'Lean not on Egypt's reeds; slake not thy thirst 
At earthly cisterns. Seek the Kingdom first. 
Though man and Satan fright thee with their worst. 
Have faith in God! 

" Go, tell Him all! The sigh thy bosom heaves 
Is heard in heaven. Strength and peace He gives. 
Who gave Himself for thee. Our Jesus lives; 
Have faith in God !" 

Anna Shipton. 



so PREVAILING PBAYEH, 



CHAPTEE IX. 

PETITION. 

The next element in prayer tliat I notice is Petition. 
How often we go to prayer -meetings without really 
asking for anything ! Our prayers go all round the 
world, without anything definite being asked for. We 
do not expect anything. Many people would be greatly 
surprised if God did answer their prayers. I remem- 
ber hearing of a very eloquent man who was leading a 
meeting in prayer. There was not a single definite 
petition in the whole. A poor, earnest woman shouted 
out: "Ask Him summat, man,'" How often you hear 
what is called prayer without any asking! " x4.sk, and 
ye shall receive." 

I believe if we put all the stumbling-blocks out of 
the way, God will answer our petitions. - If we put 
away sin and come into His presence with pure hands, 
as He has commanded us to come, our prayers will 
have power with Him. In Luke's Gospel we have as 
a grand supplement to the "Disciples' Prayer, '" Ask 
and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall find ; 
knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Some people 
think God does not like to be troubled with our con- 
stant coming and asking. The only way to trouble God 
is not to come at all. He encourages us to come to 
Him repeatedly, and press our claims. 



PETITION. SI 



I believe yon will find three kinds of Christians in 
the chnrcli to-day. The first are those who ask\ 
the second those who seek\ and the third those who 
knock. 

"Teacher," said a bright, earnest-faced boy, "why 
is it that so many prayers are unanswered ? I do not 
understand. The Bible says, 'Ask, and ye shall receive ; 
seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened 
unto you ; ' but it seems to me a great many knock and 
are not admitted." 

" Did you never sit by your cheerful parlor fire," said 
the teacher, " on some dark evening, and hear a loud 
knocking at the door? Going to answer the summons, 
have you not sometimes looked out into the darkness, 
seeing nothing, but hearing the pattering feet of some 
mischievous boy, who knocked but did not wish to enter, 
and therefore ran away ? Thus is it often with us. We 
ask for blessings, but do not really expect them; we 
knock, but do not mean to enter; we fear that Jesus will 
not hear us, will not fulfil His promises, will not admit 
us; and so we go away." 

"Ah, I see," said the earnest-faced boy, his eyes 
shining with the new light dawning in his soul: 
"Jesus cannot be expected answer runaway knocks. 
He has never promised it. I mean to keep knocking, 
knocking, until He cannot help opening the door.'''' 

Too often we knock at mercy's door, and then run 
away, instead of waiting for an entrance and an answer. 
Thus we act as if we were afraid of having our prayers 
answered. 

A great many people pray in that way; they do not 
wait for the answer. Our Lord teaches us here that 



92 Prevailing prayed. 

we are not only to ask, but we &f e to wait for the 
answer; if it does not come, we must seek to find out 
the reason. I believe that we get a good many blessings 
just by asking; others we do not get, because there may 
be something in our life that needs to be brought to 
light. When Daniel began to pray in Babylon for the 
deliverance of of his people, he sought to find out what 
the trouble was, and why God had turned away His 
face from them. So there may be something in our 
life that is keeping back the blessing; if there is, we 
want to find it out. Some one, speaking on this subject, 
has said: "We are to ask with a beggar's humility, to 
seek with a servant's carefulness, and to knock with the 
confidence of a friend." 

How often people become discouraged, and say they 
do not know whether or not God does answer prayer ! 
In the parable of the importunate widow, Christ teaches 
us how we are not only to pray and seek, but to find. 
If the unjust judge heard the petition of the poor 
woman who pushed her claims, how much more will 
our Heavenly Father hear our cry! A good many 
years ago an Irishman in the State of New Jersey was 
condemned to be hung. Every possible influence was 
brought to bear upon the Governor to have the man 
reprieved ; but he stood firm, and refused to alter the 
sentence. One morning the wife of the condemned 
man, with her ten children, went to see the Governor. 
When he came to his office, they all fell on their 
faces before him, and besought him to have mercy on 
the husband — the father. The Governor's heart was 
moved; and he at once wrote out a reprieve. The 
importunity of the wife and children saved the life of 



PETITION. 93 



the man, just as the woman in the parable, who, press- 
ing her claims, induced the unjust judge to grant her 
request. 

It was this that brought the answer to the prayer of 
blind BartimeuSo The people, and even the disciples, 
tried to hush him into silence ; but he only cried out 
the louder, " Thou Son of David, have mercy on me! " 

Prayer is hardly ever mentioned in the Bible alone ; 
it is prayer and earnestness ; prayer and watchfulness ; 
prayer and thanksgiving. It is an instructive fact that 
throughout Scripture prayer is always linked with 
something else. Bartimeus was in earnest, and the 
Lord heard his cry. 

Then the highest type of Christian is the one who 
has got clear beyond asking and seeking, and keeps 
knocking till the answer comes. If we knock, God has 
promised to open the door and grant our request. It 
may be years before the answer comes; He may keep 
us knocking ; but He has promised that the answer will 
come. 

I will tell you what I think it means to knock. A 
number of years ago, when we were having meetings 
in a certain city, it came to a point where there seemed 
to be very little power. We called together all the 
mothers, and asked them to meet and pray for their 
children. About fifteen hundred mothers came together, 
and poured out their hearts to God in prayer. One 
mother said: "I wish you would pray for my two boys. 
They have gone off on a drunken spree ; and it seems 
as if my heart would break." She was a widowed 
mother. A few mothers gathered together, and said : 
" Let us have a prayer-meeting for these boys." They 



94 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

cried to God for these two wandering boys ; and now 
see how God answered their prayer. 

That day these two brothers had planned to meet at 
the corner of the street where our meetings were being 
held. They were going to spend the night in debauch- 
ery and sin. About seven o'clock the first one came to 
the appointed place ; he saw the people going into the 
meeting. As it was a stormy night, he thought he 
would go in for a little while. The word of God 
reached him, and he went into the inquiry-room, w^here 
he gave his heart to the Savior. 

The other brother waited at the corner until the meet- 
ing broke up, expecting his brother to come ; he did not 
know that he had been in the meeting. There was a 
young men's meeting in the church near by, and this 
brother thought he would like to see what was going 
on; so he followed the crowd into the meeting. He 
also was impressed with what he heard, and was the 
first one to go into the inquiry -room, where he found 
peace. While this was happening, the first one had 
gone home to cheer his mother's heart with the good 
news. He found her on her knees. She had been 
knocking at the mercy-seat. While she was doing so, 
her boy came in and told her that her prayers had 
been answered; his soul was saved. It was not long 
before the other brother came in and told his story — 
how he, too, had been blessed. 

On the following Monday night, the first to get up 
at the young converts' meeting was one of these brothers, 
who told the story of their conversion. No sooner had 
he taken his seat, than the other jumped up and said: 
" All that my brother has told you is true, for I am 



PETITION. 95 



his brother. The Lord has indeed met ns and blessed 
us." 

I heard of a wife in England who had an unconverted 
husband. She resolved that she would pray every day 
for twelve months for his conversion. Every day at 
twelve o'clock she went to her room alone and cried to 
God. Her husband would not allow her to speak to 
him on the subject; but she could speak to God on his 
behalf. It may be that you have a friend who does 
not wish to be spoken with about his salvation ; you can 
do as this woman did — go and pray to God about it. 
The twelve months passed away, and there was no sign 
of his yielding. She resolved to pray for six months 
longer ; so every day she went alone and prayed for the 
conversion of her husband. The six months passed, 
and still there was no sign, no answer. The question 
arose in her mind, could she give him up? "No," she 
said; "I will pray for him as long as God gives me 
breath." That very day, when he came home to din- 
ner, instead of going into the dining-room he went 
upstairs. She waited, and waited, and waited ; but he 
did not come down to dinner. Finally she, went to his 
room, and found him on his knees crying to God to 
have mercy upon him. God convicted him of sin; he 
not only became a Christian, but the Word of God had 
free course, and was glorified in him. God used him 
mightily. That was God answering the prayers of this 
Christian wife ; she knocked, and knocked, till the answer 
came. 

I heard something the other day that cheered me 
greatly. Prayer had been made for a man for about 
forty years, but there was no sign of any answer. It 



96 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

seemed as though he was going down to his grave one 
of the most self-righteous men on the face of the earth. 
Conviction came in one night. In the morning he sent 
for the members of his family, and said to his daughter: 
" I want you to pray for me. Pray that God would for- 
give my sins ; my whole life has been nothing but sin — 
sin." And all this conviction came in one night. "What 
we want is to press our case right up to the throne of 
God. I have often known cases of men who came to 
our meetings, and although they could not hear a word 
that was said, it seemed as though some unseen power 
laid hold of them, so that they were convicted and con- 
verted then and there. 

I remember at one place where we were holding 
meetings, a wife came to the first meeting and asked 
me to talk with her husband. " He is not interested," 
she said, "but I am in hopes he will become so." I 
talked with him, and I think I hardly ever spoke to a 
man who seemed to be so self-righteous. It looked as 
though I might as well have talked to an iron post, he 
seemed to be so encased in self -righteousness. I said 
to his wife that he was not at all interested. She said, 
" I told you that, but I am interested for him." All 
the thirty days we were there that wife never gave him 
up. I must confess she had ten times more faith for 
him than I had. I had spoken to him several times, 
but I could see no ray of hope. The last night but 
two the man came to me and said: " Would you see me 
in another room?" I went, aside with him, and asked 
him what was the trouble. He said, " I am the greatest 
sinner in the State of Yermont." "How is that?" I 
said, " Is there any particular sin you have been guilty 



PETITION. 97 



of?" I must confess I thought he had committed 
some awful crime, which he v/as covering up, and that 
he now wanted to make confession. '' My whole life," 
he said, " has been nothing but sin. God has shown it 
to me to-day." He asked the Lord to have mercy on 
him, and he went home rejoicing in the assurance of 
sins forgiven. There was a man convicted and con- 
verted in answer to prayer. So if you are anxious 
about the conversion of some relative, or some friend, 
make up your mind that you will give God no rest, day 
or night, till He grants your petition. He can reach 
them, wherever they are — at their places of business, 
in their homes, or anywhere — and bring them to His 
feet. 

Dr. Austin Phelps, in his " Still Hour," says: " The 
prospect of gaining an object will always affect thus the 
expression of intense desire. The feeling which will 
become spontanteous with a Christian under the 
influence of such a trust is this: 'I come to my devo- 
tions this morning on an errand of real life. This is 
no romance, and no farce. I do not come here to go 
through a form of words ; I have no hopeless desires to 
express. I have an object to gain; I have an end to 
accomplish. This is a business in which I am about to 
engage. An astronomer does not turn his telescope to 
the skies with a more reasonable hope of penetrating 
those distant heavens, than I have of reaching the mind 
of God by lifting up my heart at the throne of grace. 
This is the privilege of my calling of God in Christ 
Jesus. Even my faltering voice is now to be heard in 
heaven; and it is to put forth a new power there, the 
results of which only God can know, and only eternity 
7 



98 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

can develop. Therefore, O Lord, Thy servant findeth 
it in his heart to pray this prayer unto Thee 1' " 

Jeremy Taylor says: " Easiness of desire is a great 
enemy to the success of a good man's prayer. It must 
be an intent, zealous, busy, operative prayer; for con- 
sider what a huge indecency it is that a man should 
speak to God for a thing that he values not! Our 
prayers upbraid our spirits when we beg tamely for 
those things for which we ought to die, which are more 
precious than imperial sceptres, richer than the spoils 
of the sea, or the treasures of Indian hills." 

Dr. Patton, in his work on " Remarkable Answers to 
Prayer," says: " Jesus bids us seek. Imagine amotiier 
seeking a lost child. She looks through the house, and 
along the streets, then searches the fields and woods, 
and examines the river-banks. A wise neighbor meets 
her and says : ' Seek on, look everywhere ; search every 
accessible place. You will not find, indeed; but then 
seeking is a good thing. It puts the mind on the 
stretch; it fixes the attention; it aids observation; it 
makes the idea of the child very real. And then, after 
a while, you will cease to want your child.' The 
words of Christ are, ' Knock, and it shall be opened 
unto you. ' Imagine a man knocking at the door of a 
house, long and and loud. After he has done this for an 
hour, a window opens, and the occupant of the house 
puts out his head and says: ' That is right, my friend; 
I shall not open the door, but keep on knocking — it is 
excellent exercise, and you will be the healthier for 
it. Knock away till sundown ; and then come again, 
and knock all to-morrow. After some days thus spent 
you will attain to a state of mind in which you will no 



PETITION. 99 



longer care to come in.' Is this what Jesus intended 
us to understand, when He said — ' Ask, and ye shall 
receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be 
opened unto you f No doubt one would thus soon cease 
to ask, to seek, and to knock; but would it not be from 
disgust?" 

Nothing is more pleasing to our Father in heaven 
than direct, importunate, and persevering prayer. Two 
Christian ladies, whose husbands were unconverted, 
feeling their great danger, agreed to spend one hour 
each day in united prayer for their salvation. This was 
continued for seven years, when they debated whether 
they should pray longer, so useless did their prayers 
appear. They decided to persevere till death, and, if their 
husbands went to destruction, it should be laden with 
prayers. In renewed strength, they prayed three years 
longer, when one of them was awakened in the night 
by her husband, who was in great distress for sin. As 
soon as the day dawned, she hastened, with joy, to tell 
her praying companion that God was about to answer 
their prayers. What was her surprise to meet her 
friend coming to her on the same errand! Thus ten 
years of united and persevering prayer was crowned 
with the conversion of both husbands on the same day. 

We cannot be too frequent in our requests; God 
will not weary of His children's prayers. Sir Walter 
Kaleigh asked a favor of Queen Elizabeth, to which she 
replied, " Ealeigh, when will you leave off begging?" 
" When your Majesty leaves off giving," he replied. So 
long must we continue praying. 

Mr. George Muller, in a recent address given by him 
in Calcutta, said that in 184:4: ^\q individuals were laid 



100 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

on his heart, and he began to pray for them. Eighteen 
months passed away before one of them was converted. 
He prayed on for five years more, and another was con- 
verted. At the end of twelve years and a half, a third 
was converted. And now for forty years he had been 
praying for the other two, without missing one single 
day on any account whatever; but they were not yet 
converted. He felt encouraged, however, to continue in 
prayer; and he was sure of receiving an answer in 
relation to the two who were still resisting the Spirit. 



^^©Jo i>ee ehfix^ iJace, 



99 



" Sweet is the precious gift of prayer, 
To bow before a throne of grace; 

To leave our every burden there, 
And gain new strength to run our race; 

To gird our heavenly armor on. 

Depending on the Lord alone. 

" And sweet the whisper of His love, 

When conscience sinks beneath its load. 
That bids our guilty fears remove, 

And points to Christ's atoning blood; 
Oh, then 'tis sweet indeed to know 
God can be just and gracious too. 

"But oh, to see our Savior's face! 

From sin and sorrow to be freed! 
To dwell in His divine embrace — 

This will be sweeter far indeed ! 
The fairest form of earthly bliss 
Is less than nought, compared with this." 



101 



i02 PREVAILING PRAYER. 



CHAPTEE X. 

SUBMISSION. 

Another essential element in prayer is Submission. 
All true prayer must be offered in full submission to 
God. After we have made our requests known to Him, 
our language should be, " Thy will be done." I would 
a thousand times rather that God's will should be done 
than my own. I cannot see into the future as God can ; 
therefore, it is a good deal better to let Him choose for 
me than to choose for myself. I know His mind about 
spiritual things. His will is that I should be sancti- 
fied ; so I can with confidence pray to God for that, and 
expect an answer to my prayers. But when it comes 
to temporal matters, it is different ; what I ask for may 
not be God's purpose concerning me. 

As one has well put it: "Depend upon it, prayer 
does not mean that I am to bring God down to my 
thoughts and my purposes, and bend His government 
according to my foolish, silly, and sometimes sinful 
notions. Prayer means that I am to be raised up into 
feeling, into union and design with Him; that I am to 
enter into His counsel, and carry out His purpose 
fully. I am afraid sometimes we think of prayer as 
altogether of an opposite character, as if thereby we 
persuaded or influenced our Father in heaven to do 
whatever comes into our own minds, and whatever 



SUBMISSION, 103 



would accomplish our foolish, weak-sighted purposes. 
I am quite convinced of this, that God knows better 
what is best for me and for the world than I can possi- 
bly know ; and even though it were in my power to say, 
' 3Iy will be done,' I would rather say to Him, ' Thy 
will be done.' 

It is reported of a woman, who, being sick, was asked 
whether she was willing to live or die, that she answered, 
"Which God pleases." " But," said one, " if God should 
refer it to you, which would you choose?" "Truly," 
replied she, " I would refer it to Him again." Thus 
that man obtains his will of God, whose will is subjected 
to God. 

Mr. Spurgeon remarks on this subject, " The believ- 
ing man resorts to God at all times, that he may keep 
up his fellowship with the Divine mind. Prayer is not 
a soliloquy, but a dialogue ; not an introspection, but a 
looking toward the hills, whence cometh our help. 
There is a relief in unburdening the mind to a sympa- 
thetic friend, and faith feels this abundantly; but 
there is more than this in prayer. When an obedient 
activity has gone to the full length of its line, and yet 
the needful thing is not reached, then the hand of God 
is trusted in to go beyond us, just as before it was relied 
upon to go with us. Faith has no desire to have its own 
will, when that will is not in accordance with the mind 
of God; for such a desire would at bottom be the 
impulse of an unbelief which did not rely upon God's 
judgment as our best guide. Faith knows that God's 
will is the highest good, and that anything which is 
beneficial to us mil be granted to our petitions." 

History informs us that the Tusculani, a people of 



104 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

Italy, tiaYiiig offended the Romans, whose power was 
infinitely superior to theirs, Camillus, at the head of a 
considerable army, was on his march to subdue them. 
Conscious of their inability to cope with such an enemy, 
they took the following method to appease him: They 
declined all thoughts of resistance, set open their gates, 
and every man applied himself to his proper business, 
resolving to submit where they knew it was in vain to 
contend. Camillus, entering their city, was struck with 
the wisdom and candor of their conduct, and addressed 
himself to them in these words: "You only, of all 
people, have found out the true method of abating the 
E/oman fury; and your submission has proved your best 
defense. Upon these terms, we can no more find in our 
heart to injure you than upon other terms you could 
have found power to oppose us." The chief magistrate 
replied: " We have so sincerely repented of our former 
folly, that in confidence of that satisfaction to a gener- 
ous enemy, we are not afraid to acknowledge our fault." 

In view of the difficulty of bringing our hearts to this 
complete submission to the Divine will, we may well 
adopt Fenelon's prayer: "O God, take my heart, for I 
cannot give it; and when Tliou hast it, keep it; for I 
cannot keep it for Thee ; and save me in spite of myself." 

Some of the best men the world has ever seen have 
made great mistakes on this point. Moses could pray 
for Israel, and could prevail with God; but God did 
not answer his petition for himself. He asked that 
God would take him over Jordan, that he might see 
Lebanon ; and after the forty years' wandering in the 
wilderness, he desired to go into the Promised Land; 
but the Lord did not grant his desire. Was that a 



SUBMISSION. 105 



sign that God did not love him ? By no means. He 
was a man greatly beloved of God, like Daniel ; and yet 
God did not answer this prayer of his. Yonr child says, 
" I want this or that, " but you do not grant the request, 
because you know that it will be the ruin of the child 
to give him everything he wants. Moses wished to 
enter the Promised Land ; but the Lord had something 
else in store for him. As some one has said, God kissed 
away his soul, and took him home to Himself. "God 
buried him"-the greatest honor ever paid to mortal man. 

Fifteen hundred years afterward God ansAvered the 
prayer of Moses ; He allowed him to go into the Prom- 
ised Land, and to get a glimpse of the coming glory. 
On the Mount of Transfiguration, with Elijah, the 
great prophet, and with Peter, James, and John, he 
heard the voice come from the throne of God, " This 
is My beloved Son ; hear ye Him." That was better 
than to have gone over Jordan, as Joshua did, and to 
sojourn for thirty years in the land of Canaan. So 
when our prayers for earthly things are not answered, 
let us submit to the will of God, and know that it is 
all right. 

When one inquired of a deaf and dumb boy why he 
thought he was born deaf and dumb, taking the chalk 
he wrote upon the board, "Even so. Father; for so it 
seemed good in Thy sight." 

John Brown, of Haddington, once said. "No doubt 
I have met with trials like others ; but yet so kind has 
God been to me, that I think if He were to give me as 
many years as I have lived in the world, I would not 
desire one single circumstance in my lot changed, 
except that I wish there had been less sin. It might 



106 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

be written on my coffin, ' Here lies one of the cares of 
Providence, who early lost both father and mother, 
and yet never wanted for the care of either.' " 

Elijah was mighty in prayer; he brought fire down 
from heaven on his sacrifice, and his petitions brought 
rain on the thirsty land. He stood fearlessly before 
King Ahab in the power of prayer. Yet we find him 
sitting under a juniper-tree like a coward, asking God 
that He would let him die. The Lord loved him too 
well for that ; He was going to take him up to heaven 
in a chariot of fire. So Ave must not allow the devil to 
take advantage of us, and make us believe that God 
does not love us because He does not grant all our 
petitions in the time and way we would have Him do. 

As Moses takes up more room in the Old Testament 
than any other character, so it is with Paul in the New 
Testament, except, perhaps, the Lord Himself. Yet 
Paul did not know how to pray for himself. He 
besought the Lord to take away "the thorn in the 
flesh." His request was not granted; but the Lord 
bestowed upon him a greater blessing. He gave him 
more grace. It may be we have some trial — some 
thorn in the flesh. If it is not God's will to take it 
away, let us ask Him to give us more grace, in order to 
bear it. We find that Paul gloried in his reverses 
and his infirmities, because all the more the power of 
God rested upon him. It may be there are some of us 
who feel as if everything is against us. May God give 
us grace to take Paul's platform and say: " All things 
work together for good to them that love God." So 
when we pray to God we must be submissive, and say, 
"Thy will be done." 



SUBMISSION. 107 



In the Gospel of John we read: "If ye" (that " if" 
is a mountain to begin with), " If ye abide in Me, and 
My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and 
it shall be done unto you." The latter part is often 
quoted, but not the first. Why, there is very little abid- 
ing in Christ now-a-days! You go and visit Him once 
in a while ; but that is all. If Christ is in my heart, of 
course I will not ask anything that is against His will. 
And how many of us have God's Word abiding in us? 
We must have a warrant for our prayers. If we have 
some great desire, we must search the Scriptures to 
find if it be right to ask it. There are many things 
we want that are not good for us; and many other 
things we desire to avoid are really our best blessings., 
A friend of mine was shaving one morning, and his 
little boy, not four years old, asked him for his razor, 
and said he wanted to whittle with it. When he found 
he could not get it, he began to cry as if his heart 
would break. I am afraid that there are a great many 
of us who are praying for razors. John Bunyan blessed 
God for that Bedford jail more than for anything else 
that happened to him in this life. We never pray for 
affliction ; and yet it is often the best thing we could ask. 

Dyer says: "Afflictions are blessings to us when we 
can bless God for afflictions. Suffering has kept many 
from sinning. God had one Son without sin ; but He 
never had any without sorrow. Fiery trials make 
golden Christians; sanctified afflictions are spiritual 
promotions." 

Rutherford beautifully writes, in reference to the 
value of sanctified trial, and the wisdom of submitting 
in it to God's will: " Oh, what owe I to the file, to the 



108 PREVAILING PRAYElt. 

hammer, to the furnace of my Lord Jesus, who hath 
now let me see how good the wheat of Christ is that 
goeth through His mill and His oven, to be made bread 
for His own table ! Grace tried is better than grace ; 
and it is more than grace ; it is glory in its infancy. I 
now see that Godliness is more than the outside, and 
this world's passments and their bushings. Who know- 
eth the truth of grace without a trial ? Oh, how little 
getteth Christ of us, but that which He winneth (to 
speak so) with much toil and pains! And how soon 
would faith freeze without a cross! How many dumb 
crosses have been laid upon my back, that had never a 
tongue to speak the sweetness of Christ, as this hath! 
When Christ blesseth His own crosses with a tongue, 
they breathe out Christ's love, wisdom, kindness, and 
care for us. Why should I start at the plough of my 
Lord, that maketh deep furrows on my soul ? I know 
that He is no idle husbandman; He purposeth a crop. 
Oh that this white, withered lea-ground were made fer- 
tile to bear a crop for Him, by whom it is so pai-nfully 
drest, and that this fallow ground were broken up! 
Why was I (a fool!) grieved that He put His garland 
and His rose upon my head — the glory and honor of 
His faithful witnesses ? I desire now to make no more 
pleas with Christ. Verily He hath not put me to a loss 
by what I suffer; He oweth me nothing; for in my 
bonds how sweet and comfortable have the thoughts of 
Him been to me, wherein I find a sufficient recompense 
of reward ! How blind are my adversaries who sent me 
to a banqueting house, to a house of wine, to the lovely 
feasts of my lovely Lord Jesus, and not to a prison, or 
place of exile!" 



SUBMISSION. 109 



We may close our remarks on this subject by a refer- 
ence to the words of the Prophet Jeremiah, in Lamen- 
tations, where he says: "The Lord is good unto them 
that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. It is 
good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for 
the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that 
he bear the yoke in his youth. He sitteth alone and 
keepeth silence; because he hath borne it upon him. 
He putteth his mouth in the dust ; if so be there may be 
hope. He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him ; 
he is filled full with reproach. For the Lord will not 
cast off forever ; but though He cause grief, yet will 
He have compassion according to the multitude of 
His mercies. For He doth not afflict willingly, nor 

grieve the children of men Who is he that 

saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord command- 
eth it not ? Out of the mouth of the most High pro- 
ceedeth not evil and good? Wherefore doth a living 
man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? 
Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the 
Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto 
God in the heavens." 



(i)U"6fT|lAx^Ior2. 



"Hear me, my God, and if mv lip hath dared 

To murmur 'neath Thy Hand, oh, teach me now 
To feel each inmost thought before Thee bared, 

And this rebellious will in faith to bow. 
Though I wept wildly o'er the ruined shrine, 

Where earthly idols held Thy place alone. 
Now purify and make this temple Thine, 

And teach me, Lord, to say, ' Thy will be done! ' 

"What can I bring to offer that is mine? 

A youth of sorrow, and a life of sin. 
What can I lay upon Thy hallowed shrine, 

One hope of pardon for the past to win? 
While thus a supphant at Thy feet I bow. 

Still dare I lift to Thee my tearful eyes, 
I plead the promise of Thy word, that Thou 

A broken, contrite heart ■v^ill not despise. 

"What shall I bring? A bruised spirit, Lord, 

Worn with the contest, pining now for rest, 
And yearning for Thy peace, as some poor bird, 

'Mid the wild tempest, seeks its mother's breast, 
My sacrifice, the Lamb who died for me; 

I plead the merits of Thy sinless Son; 
I bring Thy promises; I trust in Thee; 

Li love Thou smitest; Lord, ' Thy will be done! ' 



110 



ANSWERED PRAYERS. HI 



CHAPTEE XL 

ANSWERED PRAYERS. 

In the fifteenth chapter of John and the seventh verse, 
we find who have their prajers answered — " If je abide 
in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what 
ye will, and it shall be done unto yon." Now in the 
fourth chapter of James, in the third verse, we find 
some spoken of whose prayers were not answered: 
"Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss." There 
are a great many prayers not answered because there 
is not the right motive ; we have not complied with the 
Word of God; we ask amiss. It is a good thing that 
our prayers are not answered when we ask amiss. 

If our prayers are not answered, it may be that we 
have prayed without the right motive ; or that we have 
not pr-^yed according to the Scriptures. So let us not 
be discouraged, or give up praying, although our 
prayers are not answered in the way we want them. 

A man once went to George Muller and said he 
wanted him to pray for a certain thing. The man stated 
that he had asked God a great many times to grant him 
his request, but He had not seen fit to do it. Mr. 
Muller took out his note-book, and showed the man the 
name of a person for whom, he said, he had prayed for 
twenty-four years. The prayer, Mr. Muller added, was 
not answered yet; but the Lord had given him assurance 



112 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

that that person was going to be converted, and his 
faith rested there. 

We sometimes find that onr prayers are answered 
right away while we are praying ; at other times the 
answer is delayed. But especially when men pray for 
mercy, how quickly the answer comes! Look at Paul, 
when he cried, " O Lord, what wilt Thou have me to 
do?" The answer came at once. Then the publican 
who went up to the temple to pray — he got an imme- 
diate answer. The thief on the cross prayed, " Lord, 
remember me when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom!" 
and the answer came immediately — then and there. 
There are many cases of a similar kind in the Bible, 
but there are also others who prayed long and often. 
The Lord delio^hts in hearinsr His children make their 
requests known unto Him — telling their troubles all 
out to Him ; and then we should wait for His time. We 
do not know when that is. 

There was a mother in Connecticut who had a son 
in the army, and it almost broke her heart when he 
left, because he was not a Christian. Day after day 
she lifted up her voice in prayer for her boy. She 
afterward learned that he had been taken to the 
hospital, and there died, but she could not find out any- 
thing about how he had died. Years passed, and one 
day a friend came to see some member of the family 
on business. There was a picture of the soldier boy 
upon the wall. He looked at it, and said, " Did you 
knowthat young man?" The mother said, " That young 
man was my son. He died in the late war." The man 
replied, "I knew him very well; he was in my com- 
pany." The mother then asked, " Do you know any 



ANSWERED PRAYERS. 113 

tiling about his end?" The man said, " I was in the 
hospital, and he died a most peaceful death, triumph- 
ant in the faith." The mother had given up hope of 
ever hearing of her boy; but before she went hence 
she had the satisfaction of knowing that her prayers 
had prevailed with God. 

I think we shall find a great many of our prayers 
that w^e thought unansw^ered ans^vered when w-e get to 
heaven. If it is the true prayer of faith, God will not 
disappoint us. Let us not doubt God. On one occa- 
sion, at a meeting I attended, a gentleman pointed out 
an individual and said, " Do you see that man over 
there? That is one of the leaders of an infidel club." 
I sat down beside him, when the infidel said, " I am 
not a Christian. You have been humbugging these 
people long enough, and making some of these old 
women believe that you get answers to prayer. Try 
it on me." I prayed, and when I got up, the infidel 
said wdth a good deal of sarcasm, " I am not converted; 
God has not answered your prayer!" I said, " But you 
may be converted yet." Some time afterwards I 
received a letter from a friend, stating that he had 
been converted and w^as at work in the meetings. 

Jeremiah prayed, and said: "Ah, Lord God! Behold 
Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great 
power and stretched-out Arm, and there is nothing too 
hard for Thee." Nothing is too hard for God; that is 
a good thing to take for a motto. I believe this is a 
time of great blessing in the world, and we may expect 
great things. While the blessing is falling all around, 
let us arise and share in it. God has said, " Call unto 
Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and 



114 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

mighty things which thou knowest not," Now let us 
call on the Lord ; and let us pray that it may be done 
for Christ's sake — not our own. 

At a Christian conyention a number of years ago, a 
leading man got up and spoke — his subject being ''For 
Christ's Sake" — and he threw new light upon that 
passage. I had never seen it in that way before. 
When the war broke out the gentleman's only son had 
enlisted, and he never saw a company of soldiers but 
his heart went right out after them. They started a 
Soldiers' Home in the city where that gentleman lived, 
and he gladly went on the committee, and acted as 
President. Some time afterward he said to his wife, 
" I have given so much time to these soldiers that I 
have neglected my business," and he went down to his 
office with the fixed determination that he would not be 
disturbed by any soldiers that day. The door opened 
soon after, and he saw a soldier entering. He never 
minded him, but kept on writing; and the poor fellow 
stood for some time. At last the soldier put down an 
old soiled piece of paper on which there was writing. 
The gentleman observed that it was the handwriting of 
his son, and he seized the letter at once and read it. It 
was something to this effect: "Dear father, this young 
man belongs to my company. He has lost his health 
in defense of his country, and he is on his way home 
to his mother to die. Treat him kindly for Charlie's 
sake." The gentleman at once dropped his work and 
took the soldier to his house, where he was kindly cared 
for until he was able to be sent home to his mother; 
then he took him to the station, and sent him home 
with a "Go(i bless you, for Charlie's sakef 



ANSWERED PRAYERS. 115 

Let our prayers, then, be for Christ's sake. If we 
want our sons and daughters converted, let us pray that 
it be done for Christ's sake. If that is the motive, our 
prayers will be answered. If God gave up Christ for 
the Avorld, what will He not give us? If He gave 
Christ to the murderers and blasphemers, and the 
rebels of a world lying in wickecfness and sin, w^hat 
would He not give to those who go to Him for Christ's 
sake ? Let our prayer be that God may advance His 
work, not for our glory — not for our sake — but for the 
sake of His beloved Son whom He hath sent. 

So let us remember that when we pray we ought to 
expect an answer. Let us be looking for it. I remem- 
ber at the close of a meeting in one of our Southern 
cities near the close of the war, a man came up to me 
weeping and trembling. I thought something I had 
said had aroused him, and I began to question him as to 
what it was. I found, however, that he could not tell a 
word of what I had said. " My friend," said I, "what is 
the trouble?" He put his hand into his pocket, and 
brought out a letter, all soiled, as if his tears had fallen 
on it. "I got that letter, "he said, "from my sister last 
night. She tells me that every night she goes on her 
knees and prays to God for me. I think I am the worst 
man in all the Army of the Cumberland. I have been 
perfectly wretched to-day." That sister was six hundred 
miles away, but she had brought her brother to his 
knees in answer to her earnest, believing prayer. It 
was a hard case, but God heard and answered the prayer 
of this Godly sister, so that the man w^as as clay in the 
hands of the potter. He was soon brought into the 
kingdom of God — all through his sister's prayers, 



116 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

I went off some thirty miles to another place, where 
I "told this story. A young man, a lieutenant in the 
army, sprang to his feet and said, " That reminds me of 
the last letter I got from my mother. She told me 
that every night as the sun went down she prayed for 
me. She begged of me, when I got her letter, to go 
away alone, and yield myself to God. I put the letter 
in my pocket, thinking there would be plenty of time." 
He went on to say that the next news that came from 
home was that that mother was gone. He went out 
into the woods alone, and cried to his mother's God ta 
have mercy upon him. As he stood in the meeting with 
his face shining, that lieutenant said: "My mother's 
prayers are answered ; and my only regret is that she 
did not live to know it; but I will meet her by-and-by." 
So, though we may not live to see the answer to our 
prayers, if we cry mightily to God, the answer will 
come. 

In Scotland, a good many years ago, there lived a 
man with his wife and three children — two girls and a 
boy. He was in the habit of getting di'unk, and thus 
losing his situation. At last, he said he would take 
Johnnie, and go off to America, where he would be away 
from his old associates, and where he could commence 
life over again. He took the little fellow, seven years 
old, and went away. Soon after he arrived in America, 
he went into a saloon and got drunk. He got 
separated from his boy in the streets, and he has never 
been seen by his friends since. The little fellow was 
placed in an institution, and afterward apprenticed in 
Massachusetts. After he had been there some time, 
he became discontented, and went off to sea ; finally, he 



ANSWERED PRAYERS. 117 

came to Chicago to work on the lakes. He had been 
a roA'ing spirit, had gone over sea and land, and now he 
was in Chicago. When the vessel came into port, one 
time, he was invited to a Gospel meeting. The joyful 
sound of the Gospel reached him, and he became a 
Christian. 

After he had been a Christian a little while, he 
became very anxious to find his mother. He wrote to 
different places in Scotland, but could not find out 
where she was. One day he read in the Psalms — "No 
good thing will He withhold from them that walk 
uprightly." He closed his Bible, got down on his 
knees, and said: " O God, I have been trying to walk 
uprightly for months past; help me to find my mother." 
It came into his mind to write back to the place in 
Massachusetts from which he had run away years 
before. It turned out that a letter from Scotland had 
been waiting for him there for seven years. He wrote 
at once to the place in Scotland, and found that his 
mother was still living ; the answer came back imme- 
diately. I w^ould like you to have seen him when he 
got that letter. He brought it to me ; and the tears 
flowed so that he could scarcely read it. His sister 
had written on behalf of the mother; she had been 
so overcome by the tidings of her long-lost boy that 
she could not write. 

The sister said that all the nineteen years he had 
been away, his mother had prayed to God day and night 
that he might be saved, and that she might live to know 
what had become of him, and see him once more. Now, 
said the sister, she was so overjoyed, not only that he 
was alive, but that he had become a Christian. It was 



11$ PREVAILING PRAYER. 

not long before the mother and sisters came out to 
Chicago to meet him. 

I mention this incident to show how God answers 
prayer. This mother cried to God for nineteen long 
years. It must have seemed to her sometimes as 
though God did not mean to give her the desire of her 
heart; but she kept praying, and at last the answer 
came. 

The following personal testimony was publicly given 
at one of our meetings lately held in London, and may 
serve to help and encourage readers of these pages. 

A PKAYER-MEETING TESTIMONY. 

" I want you to understand, my friends, that what I 
state is not what I did, but what God did. God only 
could have done it! I had given it up as a bad job, 
long before. But it is of God's great mercy that I am 
standing here to-night, to tell you that Christ is able 
to save io the uttermost all that come to God through 
Him. 

" The reading of those 'requests' [for the salvation of 
inebriates] touched me very deeply indeed. They 
seemed to be an echo of many a request for prayer 
which has been made for me. And, from my knowl- 
edge of society generally, and of human nature, I 
know that in a very great number of families there is 
need of some such request. 

" Therefore if what I may tell you will cheer any 
Christian heart, encourage any Godly father and mother 
to go on praying for their sons, or assist any man or 
woman who has felt himself or herself beyond the 
reach of hope, I shall thank God for it. 



ANSWERED PRAYERS. liO 

"I had very good opportunities. My parents loved 
the Lord Jesus, and did their best to train me up in the 
right path ; and for some time I thought myself that I 
should be a Christian. But I got away from Christ, 
and turned further and further away from God and all 
good influences. 

'• It was at a public school where I first learned to 
drink. Many a time at seventeen I drank to excess, 
but I had an amount of self-respect that kept me from 
going thoroughly to the bad till I was about twenty- 
three; but from then till I was twenty-six, I went 
steadily down hill. At Cambridge I went on further 
and further in drinking, until I lost all self-respect, and 
voluntarily chose the w^orst of companions. 

" I strayed further and further from God, until my 
friends, those who were Christians and those who A^ere 
not, considered, and told me that there was very little 
hope for me. I had been pleaded with by all sorts of 
people, but I 'hated reproof.' I hated everything that 
savored of religion, and I sneered at every hii> of good 
advice, or any kind word offered me in that way. 

" My father and mother both died without seeing me 
brought to the Lord. They prayed for me all the time 
they lived, and at the very last my mother asked me 
if I would not follow her to be with her in heaven. To 
quiet and soothe her, I said I would. But I did not 
mean it; and I thought, when she had passed away, that 
she knew now my real feelings. After her death I went 
from bad to worse, and plunged deeper and deeper into 
vice. Drink got a stronger hold of me, and I went 
lower and lower down. I was never 'in the gutter,' 
in the acceptation in which that term is generally 



120 PREVAILING PRAYER 

understood; but I was as low in my soul as any man 
who lives in one of tlie common lodging-houses. 

"I went from Cambridge first to a to^vn in the north, 
where I was articled to a solicitor ; and then to London. 
AVhiie I was in the north, Messrs. Moody and Sankey 
came to the town I lived in ; and an aunt of mine, who 
was still praying for me after my mother's death, came 
and said to me, 'I have a favor to ask of you.' She 
had been verv kind to me, and I knew what she wanted. 
She said, 'It is to go and hear Messrs. Moody and 
Sankey.' ' Yery good,' I said; 'it is a bargain. I 
will go and hear the men ; but you are never to ask me 
again. You v/ill promise that?' 'Yes,' she said, 'I 
do.' I went, and kept, as I thought, most religiously 
my share of the bargain. 

" I vraited until the sermon was over, and I saw Mr. 
Moody coming down from the pulpit. Earnest prayer 
had been offered for me, and there had been an under- 
standing between my aunt and him that the sermon 
should apply to me, and that he would come and speak 
to me immediately afterward. "We met Mr. Moody in 
the aisle, and I thought that I had done a very clever 
thing when I walked round my aunt, before Mr. Moody 
could address me, and out of the building. 

"I wandered further from God after that; and I do 
not think that I bent my knees in prayer for between 
two and three years. I went to London, and things 
grew worse and worse. At times I tried to pull up. I 
made any number of resolutions. I promised myself 
and my friends not to touch the drink. I kept my 
resolutions for some days, and, on one occasion, for six 
months ; but the temptation came with stronger force 



ANSWERED PRAYERS. 121 

than ever, and swept me further and further from the 
pathway of virtue. When in London I neglected my 
business and everything I ought to have done, and 
sank deeper into sin. 

"One of my boon companions said to me, 'If you 
don't pull up, you will kill yourself.' 'How is that?' I 
asked. ' You are killing yourself, for you can't drink 
so much as you used to.' ' Well,' I replied, ' I can't 
help it, then.' I got to such a state that I did not 
think there was any possible help for me. 

"The recital of these things pains me; and as I 
relate them, God forbid that I should feel anything but 
shame. I am telling you these things because we have 
a Savior; and if the Lord Jesus Christ saved even me, 
He is able also to save you. 

"Affairs went on in this manner until, at last, I lost 
all control over myself. 

" I had been drinking and playing billiards one day, 
and in the evening I returned to my lodgings. I 
thought that I would sit there awhile, and then go out 
again, as usual. Before going out, I began to think, 
and the thought struck me, ' How will all this end ?' 
*0h,' I thought to myself, 'what is the use of that? I 
know how it will end — in my eternal destruction, body 
and soul !' I felt I was killing myself — my body ; 
and I knew too well w^hat would be the result 
to my soul. I thought it impossible for me to be 
saved. But the thought came to me very strongly, 'Is 
there any way of escape?' 'No,' I said; 'I have 
made any number of resolutions. I have done all I 
could to keep clear of drink, but I can't. It is impos- 
sible.' 



122 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

"Just at that moment tlie words came into mj mind, 
from God's own Word — words that I had not remem- 
bered since I was a boy : 'With men this is impossible ; 
but with God all things are possible.' And then I saw, 
in a flash, that what I had just admitted, as I had done 
hundreds of times before, to be an impossibility, was 
the one thing that God had pledged Himself to do, if 
I would go to Him. All the difficulties came up in my 
way — my companions, my surroundings of all sorts, 
and my temptations ; but I just looked up and thought, 
' It is possible with God.' 

" I went down on my knees there and then, in my 
room, and began to ask God to do the impossible. As 
soon as I prayed to Him, with very stammering utter- 
ance — I had not prayed for nearly three years — I 
thought, ' Now, then, God will help me.' I took hold 
of His truth, I don't know how. It was nine days 
before I knew how, and before I had any assurance, or 
peace and rest, to my soul. I got up, there and then, 
with the hope that God would save me. I took it to be 
the truth, and I ultimately proved it; for which I 
praise God. 

" I thought the best thing I could do would be to go 
and get somebody to talk to me about my soul, and 
tell me how to be saved; for I was -a perfect heathen, 
though I had been brought up so well. I went out 
and hunted about London ; and it shows how little I 
knew of religious people and places of worship, that I 
could not find a Wesleyan chapel. My mother and 
father were Wesleyans, and I thought I would find a 
place belonging to their denomination; but I could 
not. I searched an hour and a half ; and that night I 



ANSWERED PRAYERS. 123 

was in the most utter, abject misery of body and soul 
any man can think of or conceive. 

''I came home to my lodgings and went upstairs, and 
thought to myself, 'I Avill not go to bed till I am 
saved.' But I was so ill from drinking — I had not had 
my usual amount of food in the evening ; and the reac- 
tion was so tremendous, that I felt I must go to bed 
(although I dared not), or I should be in a very serious 
condition in the morning. 

" I knew how I should be in the morning, thinking, 
*what a fool I was last night!' when I would wake up 
moderately fresh, and go off to drink again, as I had 
often done. But again I thought, ' God can do the 
impossible. He will do that which I cannot do myseli.' 
And I prayed to the Lord to let me wake up in much 
the same condition as that in which I went to bed, feel- 
ing the weight of my sins and my misery. Then I went 
to sleep. The first thing in the morning, as soon as I 
remembered where I was, I thought, ' Has the convic- 
tion left me ? ' No ; I was more miserable than before, 
and — it seemed strange, though it was natural — I got 
up, and thanked the Lord because He had kept me 
anxious about my soul. 

"Have you ever felt like that? Perhaps after some 
meeting or conversation with some Christian, or read- 
ing the Word of God, you have gone to your room 
miserable and ' almost persuaded.' 

"I went on for eight or nine days seeking the Lord. 
On the Saturday morning I had to go and tell the 
clerks. That was hard. I did it with the tears run- 
ning down my cheeks. A man does not like to cry 
before other men. Anyway, I told them I wanted to 



124 PREVAILING PRAYER. 

become, and meant to become, a Christian. The Lord 
helped me with that promise, ' With God all things 
are possible,' 

" A sceptic dropped his head, and said nothing. 
Another fellow, with whom I played billiards, said, ' I 
wish I had the pluck to say so myself ! ' My words 
were received in a different way from what I thought 
they would be. But the very man who had told me 
that I was killing myself with drink, spent an hour and 
a half trying to get me to drink, saying, that I 'had the 
blues, and was out of sorts ; and that a glass of brandy 
or whisky would do me good.' He tried to get me to 
drink; and I turned upon him at last, and said, 'You 
remember what you said to me ; I am trying to get 
away from drink, and not to touch it again.' When I 
think of that I am reminded of the words of God Him- 
self: ' The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.' 

" And now the Lord drew me on until the little thread 
became a cable, by which my soul could swing. He 
drew me nearer; until I found that He was my Savior. 
Truly He is 'able to save to the uttermost all that 
come unto God by Him.' 

" I must not forget to tell you that I went down 
before God in my misery, my helplessness, and my sin, 
and owned to Him that it was impossible that I should 
be saved ; that it was impossible for me to keep clear of 
drink; but from that night to this moment, I have 
never had the slightest desire for drink. 

"It was a hard struggle indeed to give up smoking. 
But God in His great wisdom, knew that I must have 
come to grief if I had to fight single-handed against 
the overwhelming desire I had for drink; and He took 



ANSWEBED PRAYERS. ^ 125 

that desire, too, clean away. From that day to this the 
Lord has kept me away from drink, and made me hate 
it most bitterly. I simply said that I had not any 
strength ; nor have I now ; but it is the Lord Jesus who 
' is able also to save them to the uttermost that come 
unto God by Him.' 

" If there is any one hearing me who has given up 
all hope, come to the Savior ! That is His name, for 
'He shall save His people from their sins.'* Wher- 
ever I have gone, since then, T have found Him to be 
my Savior. God forbid that I should glory! It would 
be glorying in my shame. It is to my shame that I 
speak thus of myself; but oh, the Savior is able to save, 
and He will save ! 

" Christian friends, continue to pray. You may go 
to heaven before your sons are brought home. My 
parents did; and my sisters prayed for me for years 
and years. But now I can help others on their way to 
Zion. Praise the Lord for all His mercy to me! 

"Eemember, 'with God all things are possible.' 
And then you may say like St. Paul, 'I can do all 
thino^s throucrh Christ which streno^theneth me.' " 



"booft Uf>." 



O soul most desolate, look up ! For thee 
One faithful voice doth promise sure relief. 
Whate'er thy sin, whate'er thy sorrow be, 
Tell all to Jesus. He looketh where 
The weary-hearted weep, and draweth near 
To listen fondly to the half -formed prayer, 
Or read the silent pleading of a tear. 
Lose not thy privilege, O silent soul; 
Pour out thy sorrow at thy Saviors feet. 
What outcast spurns the hand that gives the dole? 
Oh, let Him hear thy voice; to Him thy voice is sweet.' 

A.S. 



NOTICE.— All former books (before this series), issued in 

Mr. Moody's name, have been mere compilations 

from ne\A^spaper reports of his sermons, 

issued \A/ithout his consent and 

notwithstanding his protest. 



V^^ORKS BY 

MR. D. L. MOODY, 

PUBLISHED BY 

F. H. REVELL, 148 & ISO MADISON ST., 
CHICAGO. 

The following Books sent postpaid on receipt of price. 



Over 8S0,000 copies of these works have already been sold 
the greater portion within the last three years. 



To the Work! To the Work! By D. L. Moodv. Exhortations to 
Christians. 

Tinted covers, 30c. ; cloth boards, gilt dies, 60c. 

Just published. 

This new work by Mr. Moody is in the line of his most successful 
efforts, that of stirring christians to active, personal, aggressive work 
for the Master. Mr. Moody has frequently been heard to say that 
it was much better to set 100 men to work than to do the work 
of 100 men. This little volume will we confidently believe be a 
means of inspiring not hundreds, but thousands to more efficient 
effort in Christian life. 

Secret Power, or The Secret of Success in Christian Life and Christian 
Work. By D. L. Moody. Fifty-fifth Thousand. 

"This work, so full of inspiration and suggestion, has been re- 
printed in England, and has also been translated into French and 
Italian. Through the kindness of a consecrated lady, a copy of the 
book has been presented to every Protestant minister in Italy, 
while another friend sends the English edition to every Presbyterian 
minister in Ireland. 

Every page is full of stimulating thought for Christian workers. — 
Christian Commonwealth. 

It is a good statement of the secret of success in Christian Life, 
by one who has some claim to speak on such a theme. — The Outlook. 

This series of earnest and solemn Addresses bear throughout that 
stamp of honest, eager earnestness, which is so striking a character- 
istic of the writer's labors as a preacher. — Clerical World. 



WORKS BY D. L. MOODY. 



Prevailing Prayer, What Hinders it? By D. L. Moody. 
Cloth, uniform with "To the Work," "Heaven," &c., 6oc. 
Paper covers, 30c. 

An earnest and solemn work, full of helpful hints on the aids and 
hindrances to prevailing prayer. 

"This great subject has been the theme of apostles and prophets, 
and of all good men in all ages of the world; and my desire in send- 
ing forth this little volume is to encourage God's children to seek 
by prayer 'to move the arm that moves the world.' " — Extract from 
Preface. 
Heaven; Where It Is; Its Inhabitants, and How to Get There. By D. 
L. Moody. 88th Thousand. 

While adapted to the humble capacity, it will command the atten- 
tion of the mature and thoughtful. — National Presbyterian. 

Mr. Moody is sure of an audience, and well deserves a large one 
for this book. — Presbyterian Witness. 

Mr. Moody's unfaltering faith and rugged enthusiasm are mani- 
fested on every page. — Christian Advocate. 

Eminently scriptural, earnest and impressive, will be welcomed 
by thousands. — Ziori' s Herald. 

Characterized by his apt, homely illustrations and not a few pithy 
anecdotes, such as few can equal. — The Advance. 

A most acceptable monogram in its author's own short, pointed, 
monosyllabic, Anglo-saxon style. — Herald of Truth, California. 

Abounds in apt and telling illustrations. — The Standard, Chicago. 

Anything from the pen of this renowed evangelist will be read 
with interest, — Index, Atlanta, Ga. 

The clear. Scriptural, common sen?e treatment of this subject by 
Mr. Moody has been commended in the highest terms by leading 
theologians in Europe and America, while the common people have 
heard them everywhere with gladness. — Central Baptist. 
Twelve Select Sermons. By D. L. Moody, iioth Thousand. 

This volume contains those special sermons, which have appeared 
to be most useful, and under which there have been the greatest 
results. 

Carefully revised by Mr. Moody, they present a volume of choice 
and striking addresses, sure to command a large sale. 

With the effect of these addresses when spoke7i, the whole land is 
acquainted, and now that they are written, they will tend to keep 
in force the impressions they have already made. — Methodist. 

Mr. Moody's happy style, abounding in striking anecdote and 
illustration, make it a most readable and convincing volume. — The 
Watchmayi. 

Full of earnest enthusiasm which characterizes everything Mr. 
Moody does, and will be read with interest. — Detroit Free Press. 

There are few who heard any one of these sermons who will fail 
to be delighted with this opportunity of making a calm acquaint- 
ance with it again. — Daily Review. 

This book is one of pre-eminent interest, as containing an author- 
ized record of the teaching under which, along with other means, 
such great and extensive religious impressions have been recently 
produced in this country. — The Messenger. 

Will be read by thousands with memorable interest. — Record. 

CHICAGO: F. H. REVELL, 148 & 150 MADISON ST. 



WORKS BY D. L. MOODY. 



The Way to God, and How to Find it. Fifty-fifth Thousand. 

It consists of nine chapters of the kind only D. L. Moody can 
write. The little volume contains the most convincing argument 
ever framed for the use of common people. It is a good book to 
drop into the sachel of your boy or girl ; good to send to some friend 
at a distance in ^vhom you have an interest, and good upon your own 
study table. — Inter Oceajt. 

*'The Way to God" is a theme upon which the Evangelist has 
been wont to dwell. Here in nine chapters he grasps together words 
of advice regarding that path which it is the happy privilege of the 
minister to continually make plain. — Chicago Standard. 

They are characterized by his usual simplicity, directness, fervor 
and exceptional power of vivid illustration. — Christian Herald. 

They are sharply to the point, plainly practical, and orthodox in a 
good, simple and true sense. — Christian Advocate. 

It will lead sinners to trust in God, and fire the hearts of layman 
and minister to noble works for the Master. — Baptist Reflector. 

It puts the way so plain that he who runs may read. — Religious 
Telescope. 

It is an excellent manual for the soul winners, and for the awak- 
ened seeker, and we trust will be the means of leading thousands to 
Christian hope and heaven. — Zion's Herald. 

Very earnest and powerful, abounding in apt illustrations, striking 
thoughts, and helpful, encouraging words. This book is written in 
the same plain, simple and pointed style that lends such force to his 
spoken words. The volume should find many readers. Those that 
buy it will not be disappointed. — National Baptist. 

Daniel, the Prophet. An Amplification and Extension of Mr. Moody's 
various Lectures on the Life of Daniel. 

Tinted covers, 20c.; cloth, 40c. 

A small book; but big as regards the truth it contains. Every 
worker in the Lord's vineyard would be helped by reading it. — Rail- 
way Signal. 
The Way and The Word. By D. L. Moody. Forty-fifth Thousand. 

Paper, 15c,; cloth, 25c. 

This little work contains a very clear statement on the important 
subject, Regeneration, to which is added Mr. Moody's valuable hints 
on Bible Reading. 

Mr. Moody has used this book by the thousand, placing thera in 
the hands of young converts at the close of his meetings. 

The Second Coming of Christ. By D. L. Moody, Fortieth Thou- 
sand. Tinted covers, loc. 

"The moment a man takes hold of the truth that Jesus is coming 
back again to receive His followers to Himself, this world loses its 
hold upon him. Gas stocks and water stocks, and stocks in banks 
and railroads, are of very much less consequence to him then. His 
heart is free, and he looks for the blessed appearing of the Lord, 
who at His coming, will take him into His blessed Kingdom.'' — 
Extract. 

How to Conduct Inquiry Meetings. By D. L. Moody, and The 
Use of the Bible in Inquiry Meetings, By D. W. Whittle. 
40 pages and cover. Price 15c. 

CHICAGO: F. H. REVELL, 148 & 130 MADISON ST. 



A SELECTION FROM THE CATALOGUE 

— OF — 

FLEMING H. REVELL, 

Publisher of Evangelical Literature _ 
148 & 150 MADISON STREEi; CHICAGO. 

The Following JBooks sent Post-paid on Receipt of Price. 

HELPS IN BIBLE STUDY. 

Notes and Suggestions for Bible Readings. Seventeenth thousand. 
Compiled by S. R. Briggs and J. H. Elliott. Acknowledged to 
be the very best help for Bible readings in print. Containing, in 
addition to twelve introductory chapters on plans and methods of 
Bible study and Bible readings, over six hundred outlines of Bible 
readings by many of the most eminent Bible students of the day. 

Large i2mo, 262 pages, with complete index, cloth, fine library 
style, $1.00; Flexible cloth, travelers' edition, 75c; Cheap edition, 
paper covers, 50c. 

This is a book which every Bible student should possess. Those 
who conduct Bible readings will find it most suggestive. — Chris- 
tian Progress. 

Symbols and Systems in Bible Readings. By Rev. W. F. Crafts. 
Giving a plan of Bible reading, with fifty verses definitely assigned 

for each day, the Bible being arranged with much labor in the order 

of its events. The entire symbolism of the Bible also explained 

concisely and clearly. 100 hints upon Bible markings and Bible 

readings are added. 

A year of work upon such a system would yield rich harvests of 

Bible knowledge and spiritual experience. — S S. World. 
The True Tabernacle. A series of lectures on the Jewish Tabernacle 

and its typical signification. By George C. Needham. Illustrated, 

cloth, neat, 75c. 

"C. H. M.'s" Notes. By C. H. McIntosh. Genesis, 75c; Exodus, 75c; 
Leviticus, 75c; Numbers, 75c; Deuteronomy, 2 vols., each, 75c. 

The notes breathe a very sweet and reverential spirit, and the 
author shows wonderful insight into the heart of truths. — Evangelist. 

Mr. D. L, Moody says of these books: "They have been to me 
a very key to the Scriptures. " 

Major D. W. Whittle says: "Under God they have blessed me 
more than any books, outside of the Bible itself, that I have ever 
read, and have led me to a love of the Bible that is proving an 
unfailing source of profit." 



HELPS IN BIBLE STUDY. 



Life and Times of David, King of Israel ; or, The Life of Faith 
Exemplified, By " C. H. M," Third edition, revised. i2ino, 200 
pp. Cloth, 60c. 

The Gospel According to Moses, as seen in the Tabernacle and its 
Various Services. By George Rogers. New edition, enlarged 
i6mo, 124 pp. Paper, 50c; Cloth, 75c. 

No preacher or teacher should be ignorant of the truth which 
this small volume very simply but forcibly enunciates. — The Record. 

Outline of the Books of the Bible. By Rev. J. H. Brookes, D. D. 
Invaluable to the young student of the Bible as a " First Lessons" 
in the study of theBible. iSo pp., cloth, 50c; Paper covers, 25c. 

Ruth, the Moabitess ; or, Gleanings in the Book of Ruth. By Henry 
MooREHOUSE. A characteristic series of Bible readings, full of 
suggestions and instruction. 

Neat i6mo, paper covers, 20c; cloth, gilt stamped, 40c. 

Contains many fresh and original remarks, all tending to practical 
usefulness ; a capital bit of commenting on a favorite book. — Spur- 
geott's Sword arid Trowel. 

Bible Readings. By Henry Moorehouse. A series of eleven ser- 
mons of comment and exposition, by one pre-eminently the man of 
one book — an incessant, intense, prayerful student of the Bible, 
Neat, i6mo, paper covers, 30c; cloth, gilt stamped, 60c. 

Current Discussions in Theology. By the Professors of Chicago 
Theological Seminary. Vol. I, cloth, i2mo^ 248 pp., $1,00; paper 
covers, 50c, Vol. II, 328 pp., cloth, $1.50. 

There is nothing in our language of this kind. The American 
student has had to choose between the exhaustive and unremitting 
labors which are the price of first-hand knowledge, and reviews 
which rarely fail of being colored with partiality or prejudice. The 
volume before us is a helpful, fair and trustworthy statement of the 
present position and recent movements of theology. — The Inde- 
pendent, 

It may be safely said that from no one book in the English 
language can ministers gather so much recent information con- 
cerning the topics treated. — Presbyterian Witness. 

The Date of Our Gospels. A critical argument and examination of 
evidences, particularly regarding their authenticity and authorship. 
By Samuel Ives Curtiss, D. D., Union Park Theological Semi- 
nary, Chicago. 

Sq. i6mo, neat, flexible cloth, 50c; paper edition, 25c. 
The argument is ^^•innowed of superfluous words, and presents a 
luminous and brief case. — New York Independent. 

A New Catechism. By Rev. J. T Hyde. A manual of instruction 
for students and other thoughtful inquirers. 
Cloth, i2mo, $1,00. 



CHICAGO: F. H. REVELL, 148 dr* 130 MADISON ST. 



AIDS IN CHRISTIAN WORK. 



Children's Meetings and How to Conduct Them. By T.ucY J. Rider 
and Nellie M. Carman. Introduction by Rev. J. H. Vincent, 
D. D. Contains contributions from over forty well-known workers 
among children, and gives the cream of their experience. The out- 
line lessons (over sixty in number), diagrams, and music will 
especially commend it to the thoughtful teacher. Pp. 208, cloth, ~ 
net $1.00. 

It is a good book, that suggests something in addition to that 
which it conveys. — Journal and Messenger. 

The volume will be heartily welcomed by many having this most 
important part of the religious instruction of the young in hand. 
— Z ion's Herald. 

Secret Power ; or, the Secret of Success in Christian Life and Christian 
Work. By D. L. Moody. Fifty-fifth thousand. i2mo volume, 
116 pp., rich gilt and black stamp, cloth, 60c; cheap edition, paper 
cover, 30c. 

Every page is full of stimulating thought for Christian workers. — 
Christian Commonwealth. 

The Work of Preaching Christ. By Bishop Charles Pettitt Mc- 
Ilvaine. a revised edition of an important little work. Paper 
covers, 15c, 

The Prayer Meeting and Its Improvement. By Rev. Lewis O. 
Thompson, with introduction by Rev. A. E. Kittredge, D. D. 
Sixth edition. Revised. An attractive volume. i2mo, pp. 256, $1.25. 
A valuable, because a very suggestive book. — S. S. Times. 
* * * " This is so good a book that we wish we could afford to 
give a copy of it to every young minister. Revive your prayer meet- 
ings and the churches will be revived. Mr. Thompson says some 
capital things in a telling manner, and, as his pages are full of fire 
and gunpowder, we hope certain old, worn-out things among us 
will be exploded, and good things set on fire. A brother who has 
this book handy will be helped to lead lively meetings, conducting 
them in varied ways, and expatiating on different topics, so as to 
keep up freshness, and avoid monotony and dullness. — C. H, Spur- 
geon. 

Revivals; Their Place and Power. By Rev. Herrick Johnson, D. 
D. Cloth, flexible, 25c. 

An admirable discussion of the subject. — Interior. 
We know of no publication that covers the ground so briefly and 
satisfactorily. — Baltimore Presbyterian. 

Dr. Johnson's experience has qualified him to speak upon this 
subject. — Independent. 

To the Work! To the Work ! By D. L.Moody. Exhortations to 
Christians. Paper covers, 30c ; Cloth boards, gilt dies, 60c. Just 
published. 

This new work by Mr, Moody, is in the line of his most success- 
ful efforts, that of stirring Christians to active, personal, aggressive 
work for the Master. Mr. Moody has frequently been heard to say 
that it was much better to set 100 men to work than to do the work 
of 100 men. This little volume will, we confidently believe, be a 
means of inspiring not hundreds but thousands to more efficient 
effort in Christian life. 

CHICAGO: F. H. BEVELL, 148 &> 130 MADISON ST. 



J 



PRE-MILLENNIAL LITERATURE. 



Pre -Millennial Essays. A series of papers on prophetical subjects by 
eminent writers. Edited by Nathaniel West, D. D. Issued in 
one large i2mo volume of 500 pages, $1.50. 

Those who desire to have, within the compass of a single volume, 
all that is necessary to an intelligent consideration of the subject, 
will find it here in a very readable form. It is certainly the ablest 
work that has appeared on the pre-millennial side. — Canada Pres- 
byterian. 

The best treatment of this subject from the pre-millenial side that 
has ever been published. — The Standard. 

It is pious, elaborate and fraternal. We are pleased with the 
forcible, yet candid style of argumentation, — Zion's Herald. 

Maranatha; or, the Lord Cometh. By Rev. J. H. Brookes, D. D. 
Pp. 445, cloth, $1,25 ; paper, 50c. 

Present Truth; being the Testimony of the Holy Ghost on the Second 
Coming of the Lord, the Divinity of Christ, and the Personality of 
the Holy Ghost. By Rev. J. H. Brookes, D. D. 250 pp., fine 
cloth, 75c. Cheap edition, paper cover, 25c. 

Second Coming of Christ. By Rev. J. H, Brookes, D. D. Price, 15c. 

The Blessed Hope; or. The Glorious Coming of the Lord. By 
Willis Lord, D. D. New and cheaper edition. A practical treat- 
ise ; a volume well adapted to lead to a more joyous Christian life. 
250 pp., cloth, $1.00. Cheap edition, for circulation, paper covers 
only, 25c. 

Second Coming of Christ. By George Muller, of Briitol, Eng, 
A neat little tract of 32 pages, suitable for circulation. Per dozen, 
40c; 100 copies, $2.50. 

Jesus Is Coming. By W. E. B. A most popular hand book. Six- 
teenth thousand. Giving seven arguments in favor of the pre-mil- 
lennial coming — stating the distinction between the Rapture and 
the Revelation, and between the Church and the Kingdom — and 
containing a diagram, with explanations. New, enlarged edition, 
160 pp., cloth, 5cc; paper covers, 15c. 

Twenty Reasons for Believing that the Second Coming of the Lord 
is Near. 34 pages and cover, neat, 15c. Per dozen, $1.00. 

Epiphainia. A study in Prophecy. By E. J. Edgren, Professor of 
Biblical Interpretation in the Morgan Park Theological Seminary. 
i6mo, 1X2 pp., cloth, neat, 75c. 

Dr. Edgren writes as one who both loves and reveres the Sacred 
Word. He has altogether made a book creditable in a literary not 
less than in an evangelical point of view. — Chicago Standard. 

Waiting for the Morning, and Other Poems. By the author of 
"Twenty Reasons for Believing the Coming of the Lord is Near." 
Sq. i6mo, pp. 54, red line, cloth, elegant, 50c. Cheap edition, paper 
covers, neat, 25c. 

The Second Coming of Christ. By D. L. Moody. Revised. 
Forty -second thousand. 32 pp. and cover, loc. Per dozen, $1.00. 



CHICAGO: F. H. REVEL L, 148 &> iSo MADISON ST. 



Grace and Truth Under Twelve Different Aspects. By W. P. Mackay, 
M. A Forty-eighth thousand oi Amex'icQXi edition. The English 
edition has reached a sale of over two hundred thousand, besides 
being translated into German, Spanish, Swedish Arabic. Italian, 
Dutch, Gaelic and Welsh. i2mo, pp. 282, paper, 35c; cloth, fine, 75c. 
Mr. Moody says of this work : " I know of no book in print better 
adapted to aid in the work of him who would be a winner of souls, 
or to place in the hands of the unconverted." 

My Inquiry Meeting ; or Plain Truths for Anxious Souls. By Robert 
Boyd D. D. Being the experience of a pastor during many years 
of personal dealing with anxious and careless souls. Pp. 64, 15c. 

For simplicity, clearness, and force of statement we have met with 
nothing that equals this little volume. We can think of no better 
service a pastor could render to Sunday-school teachers, and other 
guides of souls, than to secure their reading of these pages. Nor 
could inquirers have any better help in their search for truth. — The 
Interior. 

Glad Tidings. By Robert Boyd, D. D. A book for inquirers. 
l2mo, pp. 100, cloth, neat, 50c. Cheap edition, for circulation, 25c. 
This book has been used largely in connection with the great revival 
meetings both in Great Britain and this land. 

The Soul and Its Difficulties. By H. W. Soltau. Paper, pp. 
108, 8c. 

How to Be Saved; or, the Sinner Directed to the Saviour. By J. H. 
Brookes, D. D. Pp. 120, paper cover, 25c; cloth, 50c. 

The "Way to God and How to Find It. By D. L. Moody. 
t if ty -fifth thousand. A book for the inquirer and Christian 
worker. Cloth, rich black and gold stamp, 60c; paper, tinted 
covers, 30c. 

The way of salvation is made as clear as simple language and forci- 
ble, pertinent illustration can make it. In two features it is equal to 
anything that Mr. Moody has produced — in close adherence to the 
Word of God, and in profound earnestness — while in simplicity, 
directness of appeal and originality it is superior. It is a great 
matter to send such a work, so full of Christ, all over the churches, 
where it may, by the work of the Spirit, arrest the careless and 
move the ungodly, — Lutheran Observer. 

God's "Way of Salvation. By Alexander Marshall. A brief 
statement of the Way of Life, with answers to popular objec- 
tions. Each brief page complete in itself, and containing a sermon 
in a nutshell. 48 pages and covers, 5c. Per hundred. $2.50. 

Doubts Removed. By C^sar Malan, D. D. Paper covers, 5c; per 
dozen, 50c. 

"It contains the clearest statements and illustrations on the sub- 
ject treated we have ever read." 

"WelcptKie to Jesus. By Rev, C. H. Spurgeon. A series of 4 page 
tracts, with first page in attractive, illuminated designs, etc. Four 
different series, each containing 32 assortments. Price, per pack- 
age, 25c. 



CHICAGO: F. H. REVELL, 148 <& 130 MADISON ST. 



POPULAR DEVOTIONAL BOOKS. 



Prevailing Prayer: What Hinders It ? By D. L. Moody. Cloth, 
uniform with To the Work! Heaven, etc., 6oc ; paper covers, 30c. 

An earnest and solemn work, full of helpful hints on the aids and 
hindrances to prevailing prayer. 

" This great subject has been the theme of apostles and prophets, 
and of all good men in all ages of the world ; and my desire in send- 
ing forth this little volume is to encourage God's children to seek 
by prayer ' to move the arm that moves the world.' " — Extract from 
Preface. 

The. Christian's Secret of a Happy Life By Hannah Whitall 
Smith; author of "A Happy Life." Revised edition, from entirely 
new plates. i2mo, 240 pp., cloth, black and gold stamp, $1.00; 
paper cover, 50c. 

A book we unhesitatingly recommend. We have not for years 
read a book with more delight and profit. — Southwestern Chris- 
tian Advocate. 

We are delighted with the book. It reaches the very core of 
Christian experience. — Baptist Weekly. 

Worthy of universal circulation. — Christian Union. 

Life Warfare and Victory. By Maj. D. W. Whittle. Cloth, neat, 
124 pp., 60c; paper, 30c. 

This book has been prepared in the midst of evangelistic work, 
to meet the wish often expressed to the writer — that instruction 
given in Bible readings to young converts might be made available 
for their more careful study and permanent use. — Extract from 
Preface. 

Christ and the Scriptures. By Rev. Adolph Saphir. Cloth, i6mo, 
neat, 75c. 

To ail disciples of Jesus this work commends itself at once by its 
grasp of truth, its insight, the life in it, and its spiritual force. — 
Christian Work. 

"In these days of doubt and hypercriticism such a volume, breath- 
ing a spirit of earnest devotion, lifting the mind to a better con- 
ception of the immeasureable worth of the Person and the Word, and 
written, too, by a son of Israel, cannot but be welcome and helpful. " 

The Holy Life. A book for Christians seeking the " Rest of Faith." 
By Rev. Evan H. Hopkins. Fifth thousand, i8mo, 115 pages, 
cloth, beveled edge, 60c. 

Walking Worthy of God. A reprint from the works of Rev. John 
Flavell, with an introduction by (and published at the request 
of) Maj. D. W. Whittle. A valuable book for circulation — an 
incentive to Christian living. 
Sq. i6mo, pp. 43, 15c. 
Gems from Northfield. A Record of the Best Thoughts exchanged 
at the Conference for Bible Study, convened at Northfield, by D. 
L, Moody. 

i2mo, pp. 116. Price $1.00. 

The thoughts and expositions of Scripture which are presented in 
this volume are of rare practical value. — Herald and Presbyter. 



CHICAGO: F. H. REVELL, 148 & 130 MADISON ST. 



POPULAR DEVOTIONAL BOOKS. 



My Morning W^ord. A book of texts for every day in the year. 

Cloth, plain, 75c; Cloth, gilt edges, $1.00; Calf, flexible, gilt, $1.75. 

The several texts for every day each contain the "Morning Word," 
this single word being the key- word by means of which the texts 
are called to mind. 

Birth- Day Memorial Text-Book. 

A handsome little volume with a short text for every day in the 
year, with blank space opposite for autographs. Especially 
attractive for children. 

32mo, cloth, black and gold stamp, 25c; per dozen, $2 50. 

The Practice of the Presence of God. By " Brother Lawrence." 
Being a small collection of remarkable letters and "conversations" 
of a monk. 

Pp. 64, 24mo, paper cover, loc; per dozen, 75c. 

Grace Sufficient. By Rev. Henry Roissy. An extremely helpful work 
for the closet, with counsel and comfort for the Way of Life. Pp. 
265, cloth, $1.25. 

Clifton Springs Bible Readings. Containing the Bible Readings and 

Addresses given at the Conference of Believers at Clifton Springs, 
N. Y., by Messrs, Brookes, Erdman, Whittle, Needham, Parsons, 
Clark, Marvin and others. 

Sq. i6mo, 144 pp., cloth, fine, 50c; paper covers, 25c. 

The Scarlet Line. A most suggestive tract upon Joshua II and VI, 
showing the close connection between the type of the Old Testa- 
ment and the Antitype of the New. 

36 pages and cover, 5c; per hundred, $3.00. 

Envelope Series of Tracts. By H. W. S., from "The Christian's 
Secret of a Happy Life," comprising the following: 

How to Enter into the Life, 

Difficulties Concerning Consecration. 

Difficulties Concerning Guidance. 

Difficulties Concerning Faith. 

Faith: What it is. 

Is God in Everything ? 

The Joy of Obedience. 

Practical Results. 

Sold only in packets of one dozen copies. May be had either 
assorted or all of the same kind. Price, per packet, 20c. 

" They will form an excellent collection of tracts for distribution 
by those who wish their friends to share the ' Life that is hid with 
Christ.' " 

Words of Worth, from the Chicago Christian Convention. A verbatim 
report of the addresses before the Convention of October, 1882. 

i2mo, pp. 134, paper, 25c. | 

The addresses by such men as Rev. Marcus Rainsford, Rev. Chas. 
Spurgeon, Dr. W. P. Mackay, Rev. A. T. Pierson, D. D,, and 
others, will be welcomed by many. 



CHICAGO: F. H. REVELL, 148 & 130 MADISON ST. 



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